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FAMOUS ACTORS OF THE DAY 

IN AMERICA 



Stage Lovers' Series 

Famous Actors of the Day, in America 
Famous Actresses of the Day, in America 

L. C PAGE AND COMPANY 

(Incorporated) 

2(2 Summer Street, Boston, Mass. 




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■edd^ld^yriy 



/,a* 0&/z *%ein, J^iMe- / 



Famous Actors 
of the Day 



in America 



By 

Lewis C. Strang 



ILLUSTRATED 




Boston 
L. C. Page and Company 

(Incorporated) 



G 



L_ 



TWO 



Register of Copyright* 1^00 




Copyright, i8qq 
By L. C. Page and Company 

(incorporated) 
All rights reserved 



FIRST COPY, 



Colonial $resa: 

Electrotyped and Printed by C, H. Simonds & Co. 

Boston, U. S. A. 



1 n^ (o 






PREFACE. 



f 



" Famous Actors," as a companion volume 
to " Famous Actresses," follows the general 
plan of that book. The criticisms and esti- 
mates of the different players' abilities, ex- 
cept in cases where credit is given, are the 
author's own. The biographical facts, in- 
terviews, and anecdotes were obtained from 
various sources. They have in all cases 
been carefully verified, and the imaginings 
of the press agent have been scrupulously 
ruled out. In selecting the list of persons 
to be considered in the work, those actors 
most prominent on the American stage to- 
day were given the preference, and conse- 
quently it was found necessary to omit a 
number whose past achievements give them 
high rank in their profession. l. c. s. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER 


■ V 

PAGE 




Preface ix 


I. 


Joseph Jefferson . 






ii 


II. 


James A. Herne . 






18 


III. 


Richard Mansfield 






36 


IV. 


E. M. Holland 






58 


V. 


Edward H. Sothern 






70 


VI. 


John Drew 






84 


VII. 


William Faversham 






94 


VIII. 


John B. Mason 






no 


IX. 


Nat C. Goodwin . 






. 119 


X. 


James O'Neill 






136 


XI. 


William H. Crane 






149 


XII. 


Wilton Lackaye . 






166 


XIII. 


William Gillette 






174 


XIV. 


Henry Miller 






190 


XV. 


James K. Hackett 






200 



VI 



Contents. 



CHAPTER 




PAGE 


XVI. 


Henry Jewett 


. 211 


XVII. 


Stuart Robson 


. 223 


XVIII. 


Melbourne MacDowell 


. 238 


XIX. 


Sol Smith Russell 


. 248 


XX. 


Otis Skinner . 


. 260 


XXI. 


J. E. Dodson . 


. 278 


XXII. 


Robert B. Mantell 


. 288 


XXIII. 


Roland Reed 


. 297 


XXIV. 


Joseph Haworth . 


• 311 


XXV. 


Herbert Kelcey . 


. 326 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Joseph Jefferson as Rip Van Winkle Frontispiece 
James A. Herne as the Rev. Griffith Daven- 
port 18 

Richard Mansfield as Dick Dudgeon in " The 

Devil's Disciple" ■$& 

E. M. Holland 58 

Edward H. Sothern as D 'Artagnan in " The 

King's Musketeer " 70 

John Drew .84 

William Faversham as Eric Von Rodeck in 

" The Conquerors " . . . .94 
John B. Mason in "Shenandoah" . . .110 
Nat C. Goodwin as David Garrick . .119 
James O 'Neill as D 'Artagnan in " The Mus- 
keteers" 136 

William H. Crane as Falstaff . . .149 
Wilton Lackaye as Svengali in "Trilby" . 166 
William Gillette in " Secret Service " . 174 
Henry Miller in " Liberty Hall " . . .190 
James K. Hackett 200 

9 



io List of Illustrations. 

PAGE 

Henry Jewett 211 

Stuart Robson as Bertie in " The Henri- 
etta" 223 

Melbourne MacDowell 238 

Sol Smith Russell as Doctor Pangloss in 

" The Heir - at - Law " 248 

Otis Skinner as Shylock in "The Merchant 

of Venice" 260 

J. E. Dodson as John Weathersby in " Be- 
cause She Loved Him So". . . . 278 
Robert B. Mantell in "The Corsican Broth- 
ers" ... 288 

Roland Reed 297 

Joseph Haworth as Hamlet . . . -311 

Herbert Kelcey ...... 326 



FAMOUS ACTORS OF THE DAY. 



CHAPTER I. 

JOSEPH JEFFERSON. 

Beloved by the public as no American 
actor ever was before, and — what is a far 
greater tribute to the man as apart from 
the artist — honoured and respected as a 
private citizen, Joseph Jefferson is passing 
the declining years of his life, surrounded by 
an affectionate family and loyal friends. 
Neither shaft of envy nor barb of malice 
assails him, for such affluence as he enjoys 
was won by arduous and conscientious en- 
deavour. His life, one of hardships and dis- 



12 Famous Actors. 

couraging struggles, is crowned with a success 
fairly and honestly achieved. Greatest bless- 
ing of all, that marvellous art, born of a sym- 
pathetic and lovely character, nurtured by 
suffering and humiliation, — an art that is 
nature's godchild, — stands to-day as perfect 
as ever ; his personality, whose pervading 
humour and kindly pathos flash between 
laughter and tears, retains all its charm ; 
the twinkling eyes are keen and sparkling, 
and sweet amiability shines brightly on a 
countenance that even with its wrinkles is 
fresh and youthful. Surely Joseph Jeffer- 
son's is an ideal old age. 

At this late day it is hardly necessary to 
tell with any elaboration the story of Mr. 
Jefferson's theatrical career, — his autobiog- 
raphy has done that once and for all, — and 
the few facts that follow are merely land- 
marks on his life journey. Born in Philadel- 
phia on February 20, 1829, the fourth 
Jefferson in direct line from the one that 



Joseph Jefferson. 13 

made the name famous in the noteworthy 
days of the London Drury Lane Theatre, he 
made his first appearance on the stage in 
Washington, at the age of three years, as 
" Jim Crow " at a benefit given to Dan Rice. 
His youth and early manhood were passed 
amid all the poverty and privations endured 
by a barnstorming theatrical company that 
wandered here and there throughout the 
sparsely settled regions of the West and 
South. During the Mexican War he shared 
the fortunes of General Taylor's army, acting 
wherever night found him, and selling coffee 
and cakes to the soldiers during the day. 
In the years that followed he played with all 
the great actors of the time, the elder Booth, 
McCready, the Wallacks, Murdoch, and 
Edwin Forrest. In 1856 he made his first 
visit to England and France. On his return 
in 1857, he became principal comedian at 
Laura Keene's theatre in New York, where 
he acted Doctor Pangloss in " The Heir-at- 



14 Famous Actors. 

Law," and created the character of Asa 
Trenchard in " Our American Cousin," in 
which he afterward starred. At Dion Bouci- 
cault's Winter Garden Theatre, in New York, 
he played Caleb Plummer in " The Cricket 
on the Hearth," and Salem Scudder in " The 
Octoroon." Mr. Jefferson first became in- 
terested in his great part of Rip Van Winkle 
in 1859, when he read Washington Irving' s 
story. The character immediately formed 
itself in his mind, and his first version of 
the tale was produced that year, but met with 
no great success. He then went to Austra- 
lia, and while returning home, by way of 
England, he met in London Dion Boucicault, 
who worked over the Rip Van Winkle play 
into its present form. Mr. Jefferson first 
presented the new version in London, where 
its success was startling. It was accorded a 
similar reception in this country, and since 
that time Mr. Jefferson's name has been 
identified with the rdle. Since the death of 



Joseph Jefferson. 1 5 

William J. Florence, with whom he was asso- 
ciated in " The Rivals " and " The Heir-at- 
Law," Mr. Jefferson has limited his theatrical 
engagements to a few weeks each season, 
during which time he has appeared only in 
the most important cities. 

Joseph Jefferson is a comedian with a rare 
gift of pathos and an extraordinary talent for 
character delineation. Although the modern 
stage knows him in but four parts, — Rip 
Van Winkle, Bob Acres, Doctor Pangloss, and 
Caleb Plummer, — the universality of his gen- 
ius for comedy remains unquestioned and un- 
doubted. It is useless to try to analyse his 
acting, for the spell he weaves about those that 
submit themselves to his enchantment abso- 
lutely nullifies the critical faculty. The illu- 
sion created is complete ; the actor's art seems 
simply nature, and no one ever thinks of such 
things as conception or method. Indeed, so 
great is his spontaneity that he sometimes 
deceives his audience. I remember the first 



1 6 Famous Actors. 

time I saw him in " Rip Van Winkle " I was 
disappointed. I missed the ear-marks of the 
acting to which I was accustomed, and I 
could not at that time appreciate Mr. Jeffer- 
son's unfamiliar realism. I thought that he 
was " faking" the part atrociously. Of 
course, I laughed and cried with the rest, 
but the impression that he was not using his 
audience quite fairly stayed with me until I 
again saw him act the part. The spontaneity, 
I found, was there as before, and I was 
amazed to see the same gestures repeated 
and to hear the same words spoken. So it 
was with Bob Acres, in whom, however, I 
looked in vain for a suggestion of the vaga- 
bond Rip ; and so it was also with Doctor 
Pangloss, whose glowing urbanity I shall 
never forget. I know only one regret when 
I think of Joseph Jefferson. What a gal- 
lery of artistic creations might have been his 
had his professional life in this country been 
passed in some national institution similar to 



Joseph Jefferson. 1 7 

the Comedie Franchise ! Alas, that we 
should be so much the loser ! 

From time immemorial it has been the 
custom to give to the tragedian the position 
of highest rank and of greatest honour in 
the theatrical world. His province it is to 
portray the fierce passions and mighty emo- 
tions of mankind, passions and emotions 
which, when freed, rush forth an impetuous 
and ungovernable torrent, crushing, rending, 
and marring. The tragedian awes by his 
magnificence, but we do not love him. 
Occupying a trifle less prominent niche in 
the temple of art, but thrice more firmly 
established in our affections, is the comedian, 
who, like Joseph Jefferson, pictures with 
absolute fidelity, yet so sympathetically, so 
idealistically, the sorrows and joys of every- 
day life, whose cheerfulness and good nature 
cause humanity to rejoice, and whose tears 
are like April showers, which pass quickly 
and leave behind a world cleansed and smiling. 



CHAPTER II. 

JAMES A. HERNE. 

On January 16, 1899, James A. Heme 
produced in Washington a play which he 
called "The Rev. Griffith Davenport," and 
which was a dramatisation of Helen Garde- 
ner's novel, "An Unofficial Patriot." The 
Washington papers could find no good in the 
work, and their opinion was reiterated in 
Baltimore and New York. Then Mr. Heme 
came to Boston with his new play, which, by 
this time, he had renamed " Griffith Daven- 
port," and there he met a kinder reception. 
Most of the critics praised the drama as a 
courageous and artistic effort, and a few of 
them considered it a play that could fairly be 
iS 




JAMES A. HERNE 
As The Rev. Griffith Davenport. 



James A. Heme. 19 

termed great. The public, however, relig- 
iously stayed away from the theatre during 
Mr. Heme's two weeks' engagement, though 
an increased attendance at the last three or 
four performances gave a faint promise of 
awakening interest. " Griffith Davenport," 
from the standpoint of the man in the ticket 
office, was last season's most disastrous fail- 
ure, for Mr. Heme, who firmly believed in 
the worth of his drama, gave it every advan- 
tage in the way of an elaborate production, 
beautiful scenery, unique and appropriate 
costumes, and a splendid cast. Yet, in the 
face of the public verdict so emphatically 
rendered, I am convinced that "Griffith 
Davenport" is not only the strongest and 
most artistic drama written by an American 
playwright during the past decade, but I 
would even go a step farther, and declare that 
up to the last act it is the greatest American 
play ever produced. 

Certain it is that " Griffith Davenport " is 



20 Famous Actors. 

by far the most serious and the most sincere 
drama that has been inspired by the Civil 
War. It is an honest attempt to set forth on 
the stage the causes that led to that tremen- 
dous conflict, to picture without sensational- 
ism the horrors that the struggle brought, 
especially to families rent in twain by the 
warring convictions of their individual mem- 
bers, and lastly, to show that even in a nation 
torn asunder there could be discerned the 
elements that made possible the final recon- 
ciliation. The play is as far removed from 
the conventional war drama, such as Bronson 
Howard's " Shenandoah," as it is possible to 
imagine. It is absolutely without a taint of 
theatricalism, and the loftiness of Mr. Heme's 
aim is apparent, even to those that believe 
his effort misapplied and futile. For one, I 
know that for four acts it moved me mightily. 
Moreover, it brought home to me with start- 
ling vividness the awful tragedy of that 
period of the country's history, and I realised 



James A. Heme. 21 

the meaning of that war with a force and a 
conviction never before experienced. 

Mr. Heme's theories of dramatic art are 
well known. He believes in literally holding 
the mirror up to nature ; he believes that his 
mimic life on the stage should be in detail 
and in effect a reproduction of the real life 
of the workaday world ; he does not believe 
in dramatic climaxes, as the term is con- 
ventionally applied, and he does not believe 
in manufactured situations. This is realism, 
as Mr. Heme interprets it. "Griffith Dav- 
enport " is written in complete accordance 
with its author's theories, and consequently 
the dramatist flings the gauntlet full in the 
face of stage tradition. It was a gloriously 
daring experiment, and Mr. Heme surely 
proved that a drama, devoid of extraneous 
climaxes, might be crowded with the most 
absorbing dramatic interest and full of the 
most thrilling dramatic situations, situations 
whose power seemed all the stronger because 



22 Famous Actors. 

they stood forth naked in their human 
reality. 

The first three acts are in wonderful unity. 
They cover the period between April and 
November, i860, and picture with impar- 
tiality the good and bad sides of the institu- 
tion of slavery. The atmosphere is almost 
perfectly sustained, and the scenes among 
the slaves, the reproduction of the soft Vir- 
ginian dialect, the picturing of the delicate 
courtesy and old-fashioned gentility of the 
women, and the gallantry of the men all show 
stage art at its best. The central figure is 
Davenport, circuit-preacher, owner of slaves 
inherited from his father, and abolitionist by 
conviction. The implacability of the "insti- 
tution " is early indicated when Davenport's 
kindness of heart and sympathetic nature 
force him, against his will and in opposition 
to his professed principles, to buy a negro, 
the husband of one of his own slaves, whom 
his master is about to sell to satisfy a gam- 



James A. Heme. 23 

bling debt. The division in Davenport's own 
household is tragic, a division of honest con- 
viction, be it understood, and unaccompanied 
by loss of affection or of mutual respect. On 
one side is the father and the younger son ; 
on the other, the loving mother and the im- 
petuous elder brother. The first clash comes 
when Davenport attempts to free his slaves, 
who, in their state of childish dependence, 
cannot comprehend what freedom means, and 
the growing animosity to Davenport among 
his neighbours culminates on the day Lin- 
coln is elected, when the obnoxious abolition- 
ist is forcibly driven from his home. The 
curtain of the third act, following Davenport's 
prayer after receiving the notice of expulsion, 
and the wonderful realism of the fourth act 
— Davenport's comments on the inaccu- 
racies in the only map that the Federals 
have of the Shenandoah Valley ; the great 
import of Governor Morton's words, when he 
said, referring to the defeat of Bull Run and 



24 Famous Actors. 

Davenport's knowledge of the locality, " You 
could have prevented that disaster ; " the 
pathos of Davenport's parting with his wife 
after he has consented to lead the Union 
army through the valleys and over the hills 
and among the friends that he loves so well, 
— are especially notable features of this 
remarkable drama. 

Mr. Heme's impersonation of the circuit- 
preacher is that of a master of the art of 
suggestion, and it is a character study of 
remarkable completeness. Davenport is so 
essentially human that at times he creates in 
the spectator's mind the same irritation that 
one feels toward a public man who seeks to 
dodge a knotty political problem by quibbling 
or by begging the question. Davenport, high- 
minded, sincere, and fearless, but with the 
spirit of the South strong within him, refuses 
for a long time to acknowledge the attitude 
toward his old friends and neighbours that 
logic and his own sense of right and justice 



James A. Heme. 25 

must inevitably cause him to assume. After 
his attempt to free his slaves he is asked : " In 
case of war between the North and the South, 
what are you going to do ? " " I shall be neu- 
tral," is his reply. Squire Nelson, speaking 
with the voice of fate, answers : " There can 
be no neutrality ; you must be for us or 
against us." But Davenport only shakes his 
head. He cannot follow his own reasoning 
sufficiently far to see himself an enemy to his 
people. Nor has he fully realised the inevi- 
table two years later, when Governor Morton 
tells him that he must guide the Army of 
the Potomac through his beloved Shenan- 
doah Valley. Again Davenport says, " I am 
neutral." Morton throws at him that indict- 
ment regarding Bull Run, and at last Daven- 
port's eyes are opened, and he takes up the 
burden of his duty. How true to life is this 
development of Davenport's character! In 
contrast to Davenport's halting grasp of the 
part he must play in the conflict is the 



26 Famous Actors. 

full comprehension vouchsafed Davenport's 
younger son, the serious-minded Roy. A 
boy in years, unfettered by tradition, and less 
moved than his father by environment and 
by consequences, he reaches instinctively the 
conclusion that his father is so reluctantly 
forced to admit. When the elder brother, 
Beverly, declares, without personal animosity 
and without heroics, that if he should find 
Roy fighting the South he would shoot him 
quicker than he would a Yankee, — mean- 
ing, of course, that he would look upon the 
younger son as a traitor, — Roy answers, 
with quiet intensity that proclaims the fixity 
of his purpose : " I certainly shall have to 
give you the chance." 

The last act of " Griffith Davenport " I 
consider wholly at variance with the drama 
as a whole. It is melodramatic in tone, but, 
worse than that, it is superlatively anticli- 
matic and a most serious detriment to the 
effect of the play. I can follow Mr. Heme's 



James A. Heme. 27 

realism for a considerable distance, and I can 
appreciate his efforts to avoid the conven- 
tional, but I cannot allow that an anticlimax 
is a virtue. Far better make Davenport a 
martyr to the cause than have the curtain fall 
on a sentimental discourse. 

James A. Heme was born in Troy, New 
York, on February 1, 1840, and has been on 
the stage over forty years. His first appear- 
ance was made at the Adelphi Theatre, Troy, 
in 1859, as George Shelby in " Uncle Tom's 
Cabin." He remained in his native city for 
two seasons, and then went to Baltimore, 
where he played in the Holliday Street 
Theatre for three years. During that time 
he delivered the address at the opening of 
Ford's Theatre, Washington, in which Presi- 
dent Lincoln was afterward assassinated. 
After leaving the Baltimore company he 
travelled as leading man with the beautiful 
Susan Denning, and then went to California, 
as did all the best Eastern actors, including 



28 Famous Actors. 

Edwin Booth and Lawrence Barrett. As long 
ago as 1869, Mr. Heme managed a theatre in 
New York, the Grand Opera House. On 
July 17, 1866, he married Helen Western, 
and as leading man for his sister-in-law, 
Lucille Western, Mr. Heme succeeded E. L. 
Davenport, playing Bill Sykes to Miss West- 
ern's Nancy in " Oliver Twist," and Francis 
Levison to her Lady Isabelle. It was while 
Mr. Heme was supporting Miss Western in 
New York that a little girl named Katherine 
Corcoran first saw him as she sat in a cheap 
seat in the gallery of the theatre, and heartily 
hated the villainous Bill Sykes, and by deduc- 
tion the man that acted him. She had no 
idea at that time that she, too, would one day 
be an actress, and she would have been hor- 
rified if she had known that ten years later 
she would become the wife of the man whom 
for the moment she so thoroughly detested. 

While still in her teens Katherine Corcoran 
went with her family to California, and so 



James A. Heme. 29 

came under the instruction of Miss Julia 
Melville. One day she was rehearsing Con- 
stance in "The Love Chase," when she was 
confounded to see Mr. Heme, then one of 
the most popular and influential actors on the 
Pacific Coast, walk on the stage, and quietly 
seat himself on a convenient box, cross his 
legs, and fall to caressing one knee. Her 
recollection of that moment is that her ma- 
chinery seemed suddenly to stop ; she felt 
thirsty and could hardly articulate, for " that 
dreadful Mr. Heme" was a tyrannical stage- 
manager and a merciless critic. It was long 
afterward that she learned that Miss Melville 
had coaxed him to come to hear one of her 
pupils recite. The result was an opportunity 
to play Peg Woffington. It was on Novem- 
ber 5, 1877, that Katherine Corcoran made 
her successful debut in San Francisco, and 
immediately afterward she was taken by Mr. 
Heme on a starring trip to Portland, Oregon. 
A year later the two were married, and since 



30 Famous Actors. 

that time they have been continuously asso- 
ciated in the productions of Mr. Heme's 
plays. 

Mr. Heme's first great success was "Hearts 
of Oak," which was brought out in San Fran- 
cisco in 1878. It had a wonderful vogue for 
ten or twelve years, and earned a fortune 
for the author. Mr. Heme described it as 
a melodrama without a villain. His second 
play was "The Minute Man," produced in 
Philadelphia in 1885. He lost money on this, 
and finally " Drifting Apart," a play first pre- 
sented in New York, from which Mr. Heme 
expected much, completely ruined him finan- 
cially. In 1888 he produced in Chickering 
Hall, in Boston, "Margaret Fleming," a seri- 
ous drama, which proved to be the forerunner 
of the "problem plays." The work was a 
little in advance of its time, though it barely 
missed being a success. The feature of the 
production was the marvellously realistic act- 
ing of Mrs. Heme, who is said to have been 



James A. Heme. 31 

largely responsible for the personality and 
opinions of the heroine. 

In 1 89 1 Mr. Heme entered into negotia- 
tions with the late J. H. McVicker for the 
production of a new play, which Mr. Heme 
called "The Hawthornes." Mr. Heme was 
a poor man, disappointed and thoroughly dis- 
heartened, for he had long been trying to 
find some one with money and influence who 
would interest himself in this play. Mr. 
McVicker wanted a spring attraction for his 
house, and he was charmed with the work. 
He rechristened it " Shore Acres' Subdivi- 
sion," and under that title it was first pro- 
duced at McVicker's Theatre, Chicago, on 
May 23, 1892. The production attracted 
but little attention, and the play was ac- 
counted a failure, only one critic predicting 
a great popular success for it. After about a 
week of poor business the play was renamed 
a third time, " Uncle Nat," but the change 
of title did not draw any larger audiences, 



32 Famous Actors. 

and at the end of the third week the drama 
was withdrawn and other plays in Mr. 
Heme's repertory substituted. 

When the season closed Mr. Heme came 
East and began his struggles over again. 
Every prominent manager was either visited 
or written to, but none would consent to put 
money into a play that had proved a failure. 
In the end Mr. Heme had to give it up and 
accept an engagement in a New York produc- 
tion. About this time R. M. Field, the man- 
ager of the Boston Museum stock company, 
needed a new play, and he sent his stage- 
manager, Edward E. Rose, to see Mr. Heme. 
Mr. Rose heard the play read, and his report 
convinced Mr. Field of its merits. Accord- 
ingly arrangements were concluded for a 
Boston production, which took place at the 
Museum. The success of " Shore Acres " 
was pronounced, and it scored a run of one 
hundred and fourteen performances, which 
was remarkable for Boston. Mr. Field, 



James A. Heme. 33 

believing that it was merely a local hit, sold 
his interest in the play to Henry C. Miner, 
of New York, for $1,500, and that astute 
manager is known to have cleared $35,000 
as his share of the following season's profits. 
" Shore Acres " was acted by Mr. Heme all 
over the country until he made his production 
of " Griffith Davenport." 

" Shore Acres " was written before " Mar- 
garet Fleming," and in the play Mr. Heme 
had one cherished moment, which he felt 
sure would meet the condemnation of every 
experienced manager. It was the ending. 
The action closed on Christmas Eve. The 
children were sent to bed and were followed 
shortly after by all the adults, except Na- 
thaniel Berry, the lovable old bachelor, who 
tarried a moment to lock up for the night 
and put things to rights generally. With an 
ineffable smile, unlike that of any other actor 
on earth, the kind old man puttered about, 
and at last, after extinguishing the last 



34 Famous Actors. 

candle, in the dim light that shone from the 
open damper of the kitchen stove, felt his 
way to the stairs and slowly climbed to his 
chamber, the curtain falling as his bent form 
disappeared at the head of the stairs. When 
Mr. Heme explained how he purposed to 
close the play Mr. McVicker objected. 

" Oh, no, my dear Mr. Heme," he said. 
"I fear you have made a mistake. The 
public would not wait for that. It is too 
unconventional. Your story is told when 
the young couple have returned from the 
West and made up with Helen Berry's 
father. Let the curtain fall as soon as 
possible after the climax is reached," and 
the drama was acted that way in Chicago. 

" When we came to rehearsal at the Bos- 
ton Museum," Mr. Heme remarked, "I 
expected that Mr. Field would object to 
my ending of the piece. If he had objected 
I was prepared to urge with all my eloquence 
my claim for recognition on that point. But 



James A. Heme. 35 

to my delight Mr. Field almost immediately 
took my view of it, and so you find in ' Shore 
Acres ' an unconventional ending, and one 
which it seems to my poor judgment has 
the merit of a poetic suggestion, if nothing 
more." 

Mr. Heme's acting of Nathaniel Berry 
was a wonderful comedy achievement. It 
was a character part, of course, a realistic 
study of a familiar New England country 
type, which Mr. Heme pictured with per- 
fect truth. Nathaniel Berry lived under his 
touch, displaying — with a fidelity that so 
closely approached nature that one never 
thought of art or acting — all the kindly 
humour, the gentle pathos, and innate 
strength of character that made Uncle Nat 
so lovable a member of the human family. 



CHAPTER III. 

RICHARD MANSFIELD. 

For a number of years Richard Mansfield 
has held a foremost place among American 
actors, and last season his imposing produc- 
tion of Edmond Rostand's romantic drama, 
" Cyrano de Bergerac," gave him a position 
in this country very similar to that accorded 
Sir Henry Irving in England. While pro- 
fessionally Mr. Mansfield leads here as Mr. 
Irving leads there, it is not likely that the 
American actor will ever secure that same 
personal hold on the people that the British 
actor has ; for Mr. Mansfield is sadly defi- 
cient in suavity and in social tact, qualities 
that are especially prominent in Mr. Irving, 
and which have been important factors in 
3* 




RICHARD MANSFIELD 
As Dick Dudgeon in " The Devil's Disciple. 



Richard Mansfield. 3 7 

advancing his interests. However, as a 
dramatic artist, I consider Mr. Mansfield 
greatly Mr. Irving's superior, and as an 
intellectual actor the American is certainly 
the Englishman's equal. Mr. Irving's rec- 
ord as an elaborate producer of plays is, of 
course, unequalled, but Mr. Mansfield's is not 
a mean one, and it represents a wealth of grit, 
pluck, and determination in the pursuit of an 
artistic ambition. 

Mr. Mansfield, like Mr. Irving, is pre- 
eminently a character actor. We have no 
great tragedians these days, and we forget 
what tragedy acting is until some foreigner, 
like Tomasso Salvini or Mounet-Sully, in 
whom a paternal government has kept the 
tragic fire always burning, visits us and 
either thrills or bores us — the emotion de- 
pends entirely on the individual — by his 
tremendously powerful and realistic art, as 
in the case of Salvini, or by the artistic 
completeness of his artificiality, as in the 



38 Famous Actors. 

case of Moimet-Sully. We have no trage- 
dians principally because tragedy is not a 
popular form of dramatic art among a fini- 
cal people, who have not advanced far enough 
as a whole to appreciate the poetry of the 
classic tragedy, and who are so falsely re- 
fined that they are shocked by the brutality 
of suffering and death. The nearest ap- 
proach to tragedy is found in theatres that 
draw their support from the uneducated 
masses, and the boisterous acting seen in 
these playhouses seems to a person, accus- 
tomed to the more quiet and more subtle 
modern method, a burlesque. He is sur- 
prised at the influence these actors exercise 
over their emotional audiences. I once saw 
"Othello" played as if it were a melo- 
drama, and its effect on the spectators, who 
followed the development of the plot with 
breathless interest, was amazing. It is more 
than probable that Shakespeare intended that 
" Othello " should be presented in just that 



Richard Mansfield. 39 

way and to just such people, and he would 
likely enough have laughed at our idea of the 
ideally tragic, which has killed the old-fash- 
ioned, ranting tragic actor and developed our 
present school of character actors. It may 
be stated right here, however, that no more 
artistic mummer ever lived than he who can 
unite with the eccentric physical and mental 
details of the character he impersonates 
emotional strength, pathetic power, and grim 
humour. 

Such a character is Mr. Mansfield's Cy- 
rano, a histrionic structure of Titanic pro- 
portions. One is so amazed at its immensity 
that the critical faculty is well-nigh paralysed, 
and he finds himself pondering on the breadth 
and intellectual grasp. of the man that con- 
ceived the wealth of elaboration that went 
into the portrayal of the character, on the 
infinite patience that worked out such a store- 
house of detail, and on the resources of the 
actor's art that made possible so remarkable 



40 Famous Actors. 

a creation. The most impressive feature of 
the Mansfield Cyrano, when the actor inter- 
preted the character with fullest power, was 
not the great intellectuality of his concep- 
tion nor the masterly resourcefulness of his 
impersonation, but it was the marvellous 
sympathy and pathos which pervaded both 
conception and exposition. The tragedy of 
Cyrano de Bergerac seemed the summing 
up of the tragedy of human existence, — the 
common story of the many men who have 
started forth in life girded with honesty and 
nobility of purpose, with their ideals firmly 
fixed, and who have failed miserably to 
keep their souls pure. Few, indeed, fight 
as did Cyrano, to the bitter end ; few die 
without a compromise, with their crests 
snow-white. A moment ago I said the trag- 
edy of Cyrano. It is not true. Theirs the 
tragedy who fall by the wayside ; his the 
great victory ! 

It was this thoroughly real, this wonder- 



Richard Mansfield. 41 

fully human quality in Mr. Mansfield's acting 
that seized one. He embodied Cyrano com- 
pletely, not as an individual, fighting for 
freedom and independence, but as the living 
representative of every man who cherishes 
unsordid ambition, unworldliness, and personal 
self-respect as greater than material honours 
won by bowing the knee or gainsaying the 
truth. 

The Mansfield Cyrano was a complete 
text-book in the art of acting, and it af- 
forded a splendid opportunity to study an 
artist's conception and exposition of a great 
character. It is no exaggeration to say that 
there was not a turn of a phrase, nor a move- 
ment of the body, that did not bear testi- 
mony to the actor's deep delving into details. 
Cyrano's mind and soul were probed to their 
innermost recesses, and the actor dragged 
forth every motive, however hidden, and 
however subtle, that in any way influenced 
the man in his attitude toward the world. 



42 Famous Actors. 

And there were depths to probe in the char- 
acter imagined by Rostand. 

There have been apologists for Cyrano's 
braggadocio and swaggering; they feared that 
some one might be shocked by them out 
of sympathy with the character. Mr. Mans- 
field made it very clear that this spirit of 
bullying and boasting was but the cloak that 
hid from prying scoffers the tender, sen- 
sitive, exquisitely chivalrous nature of the 
real Cyrano. They were the assumed gar- 
ment of the man, whom none except Le 
Bret and the generous Ragueneau ever in 
the least understood, whose complete self- 
sacrifice Christian perceived but dimly, and 
whose great, pure love Roxane realised only 
when it was unmasked by the weakness of 
approaching death. Those boastings and 
floutings were the master strokes of a pa- 
thos that reached its climax at the very 
end of the drama, when Cyrano, bruised and 
wounded unto death by the foul blow of a 



' Richard Mansfield. 43 

cowardly assassin, strove with ghastly in- 
tensity to play the part that had been his 
life study. 

While Mr. Mansfield may not have ex- 
pressed to the full the rich sixteenth century 
humour of the first two acts, his mastery of 
the picturesque and tragic scenes of the last 
three acts was thorough. The famous bal- 
cony scene of the third act was marvellously 
played, and the effect produced was largely 
one of voice, for the scene was acted in 
darkness — save for the light on Roxane — 
that hid completely the features and all save 
the most pronounced gestures of Cyrano and 
Christian. Mr. Mansfield introduced a dar- 
ing bit of novelty by singing the " moon " 
verses that delayed the Comte de Guiche 
while Roxane and Christian were married. 
Strikingly original in treatment, also, was 
the duel scene in the first act. Mr. Mans- 
field — perhaps because he knew that where 
Cyrano was, there the dramatic interest set- 



44 Famous Actors. 

tied, perhaps (and we prefer to think this) 
because he followed his artistic sense — 
never hesitated to sacrifice his claim to the 
centre of the stage for the purpose of 
heightening the picturesqueness of the action 
or of adding to its force. The duel was not 
fought in the open, with the stage crowd 
grouped in the background, and the two 
leaders in the action in unobstructed view 
of the audience. Instead, the crowd formed 
a complete circle about the fencers and fol- 
lowed them around the stage, as Cyrano 
pursued his continually retreating antagonist. 
We caught only occasional glimpses of the 
duellists, and above the murmuring of the 
crowd we heard the voice of Cyrano reciting 
his verses. The effect of it all was very 
realistic. Unconventional, too, was the cli- 
max of the battle scene. Cyrano was well 
to the rear of the stage, half-way up the 
slope, when the victorious Spaniards forced 
the redoubt and burst into view. Wounded, 



Richard Mansfield. 45 

he sank to his knees, and in this posture 
shouted: "These are the Gascon Cadets ! " 
Then he fell, and lay stretched out on the 
embankment, only one of many. 

The gentle courtesy to the orange-girl in 
the first act, the snarling, rasping, tigerish 
recitation of the ballad of the Cadets, and 
the bound-down rage at Christian's interrup- 
tions in the second act, the convincing elocu- 
tion in the balcony scene in the third act, 
the delicate sentiment in the bearing toward 
Roxane in the fourth act, the pathos and 
tragic power of the difficult death scene, — 
how incomparable was Mr. Mansfield in all 
of them ! 

In 1890, Richard Mansfield, in order to 
expose an impostor who claimed to be his 
brother, sent the following note to a Cleve- 
land lawyer: "I have no relatives in this 
country. My father, whose name was Mau- 
rice Mansfield, is dead, as is my mother, 
whose maiden name was Emma Rudersdorff. 



46 Famous Actors. 

The family comprises now only my two 
brothers, my sister, and myself. My brother 
Felix, the eldest, resides with his family in 
Clifton, near Bristol, England. My sister 
Margaret is married and lives in France. My 
younger brother is also married, and lives 
in Milan, Italy." Mr. Mansfield was born 
on the island of Heligoland, one of the 
Frisian group in the North Sea, in 1857. 
Madame Rudersdorff was a famous opera 
singer, and Richard's youth was a migratory 
one. When most boys are still in the school- 
room, he was travelling all over the Conti- 
nent and England. When he was ten years 
old he was sent to school in Germany. One 
day he amused himself by painting the school- 
room door a vivid green, and he was so 
pleased with his work that he signed his 
name to the decorated panel. Great was the 
wrath of the ancient pedagogue, and Richard 
was summoned to the professor's study for 
an accounting, while the remainder of the 



Richard Mansfield. 47 

pupils assembled beneath the window to 
profit by his agony. Days at the Derby 
School under the tutelage of the Rev. Walter 
Clark followed, and it was here that he made 
his first appearance in Shakespearian drama. 
The occasion was a class day exhibition, and 
Richard played Shylock. It was after this 
production that Doctor Selwyn, the late 
Bishop of Lichfield, turning to the young 
Thespian and grasping his hand, said, fer- 
vently : " Heaven forbid that I should en- 
courage you to become an actor, but should 
you, if I mistake not, you will be a great 
one." 

In 1869, while Richard Mansfield was 
studying at Yverdon, on the Lac de Neu- 
chatel in Switzerland, his mother came to 
this country, and in 1872 she was one of 
the most popular vocalists at the Boston 
Peace Jubilee. She was so pleased at her 
reception in that city that she decided to 
settle there, and Richard was sent for. He 



48 Famous Actors. 

went to work in the large dry goods store of 
Jordan, Marsh & Company. He wrote the 
advertisements for the firm. He was also 
for a year the musical critic of the Boston 
Globe. A business life, however, had no at- 
tractions for him, and he decided to try his 
hand at painting. In 1875 he journeyed to 
England, where he hoped to sell enough pic- 
tures to gain the means wherewith to pursue 
his studies ; but the pictures would not sell, 
and he soon found himself stranded, penni- 
less and almost starving. Too proud to send 
home for assistance or to ask it from his 
acquaintances in London, hungry and home- 
less, he walked the streets day and night, 
rejoicing that the polished uppers of his 
soleless shoes, and the one tidy looking 
suit of clothes that he possessed concealed 
his poverty. Occasionally he accepted in- 
vitations to dinner or to country houses, 
and he satisfied his independence by the 
thought that he paid for his meals by the 



Richard Mansfield. 49 

delightful parlour entertainments that he 
gave. 

"None but a young, strong man could 
have subsisted upon the little I ate," said Mr. 
Mansfield. "For nearly three years I wan- 
dered about the streets of London a starving 
man, shunning former friends for fear that my 
necessitous condition would become known 
to them. Often, footsore and faint with hun- 
ger, I would gaze into the windows of restau- 
rants, bakers' and fruit stores, thinking the 
food displayed in them the most tempting 
and beautiful sight in the world. D'Oyly 
Carte then kept a registry for actors, and 
one day, having received a guinea for an arti- 
cle I had written, I paid him five shillings to 
put my name on his books. We had been 
friends before I had begun to avoid my 
friends, therefore he took an interest in me 
and soon obtained for me a situation with Ger- 
man Reed. I was to take the place of Corney 
Grain, the great drawing-room entertainer of 



50 Famous Actors 

England, and to receive forty dollars a week. 
To me the prospect of earning this sum 
appeared as if Eldorado had suddenly show- 
ered its riches upon me. 

"Gerald Dixon, son of Hepworth Dixon, 
helped me to write a little sketch for my 
debut. It was a description, with imitations, 
of a party of actors supposed to be crossing 
the ocean. The usual charity concert was 
to be given, in which the fog-horn played a 
prominent part. There was to be an amus- 
ing imitation of the Italian baritone, who 
sings, as he always does, 'La ci Varem,' in 
the middle of which he leaves in haste to 
pay tribute to the mighty monarch, — ocean. 
Well, the eventful night came which was to 
make or mar me. I sat down at the piano 
and struck a chord, — one chord only, — and 
fell back. I was taken off the stage, having 
succumbed to stage fright, as they thought, 
but the truth was that I was so weak from 
hunger and privation that I fainted. I was 



Richard Mansfield. 5 1 

physically too exhausted from continued fast- 
ing to get through such an entertainment as 
I had undertaken. 

" I was discharged the next day, receiving 
one week's salary. When that was gone 
there ensued another and worse period of 
starvation. Having no means to procure 
shelter, I walked about the streets of London 
all night long. Just as I thought I must 
surely perish from want of food and exposure 
I met W. S. Gilbert. He had been much 
struck by my efforts to amuse our mutual 
friends of former days in their drawing- 
rooms. He was about sending a company 
into the provinces to play ' Pinafore/ and 
engaged me on the spot to take the role of 
Sir Joseph Porter at a salary of ^3 a week. 
Small as the sum was, it sufficed to end my 
starvation, and to give me a chance to begin 
my professional career. I remained three 
years with Gilbert, at the end of which 
time I struck for a little more pay. It 



52 Famous Actors. 

was refused, and I left him and went to 
London." 

Alexander Henderson, the husband of 
Lydia Thompson, gave Mr. Mansfield an 
engagement at the Globe Theatre, where he 
made an instant hit in " La Boulangere " and 
other comic operas. Then D'Oyly Carte 
made him an offer to go to the United 
States, and he made his debut, September 
26, 1882, in this country as Dromez in 
" Les Manteaux Noirs," at the old Standard 
Theatre in New York. Other comic opera 
roles, such as Nick Vedder in "Rip Van 
Winkle," and the Lord Chancellor in " Iolan- 
the," followed, and then he became a member 
of A. M. Palmer's Union Theatre Company. 
After a round of minor parts he was finally 
cast for the small part of Tirindal, the 
blase youth in " A Parisian Romance." He 
was very despondent over this role, but soon 
his chance came. Less than a week before 
the play was produced, J. H. Stoddard, who 



Richard Mansfield. 53 

was cast for the Baron Chevrial, threw up 
the character in disgust, saying that he could 
do nothing with it, and it was given to Mans- 
field. On the eventful first night, January 
10, 1883, his earlier efforts were received 
with critical coldness, but after the great 
supper scene, as the amazed surprise of the 
audience gave place to unbridled enthusiasm, 
such a reception awaited him as even this 
theatre of successes had never before wit- 
nessed. 

Mr. Mansfield went on the road with Mr. 
Palmer's company during the spring and 
summer, and in San Francisco he made a 
hit as the irate French tenor in "French 
Flats." The next few years were a constant 
struggle to maintain his individuality and to 
gain recognition. He was in " Alpine Roses " 
at the Madison Square, and acted the Ger- 
man baron in "La Vie Parisienne" at the 
Bijou, and Nasoni in " Gasparone " at the 
Standard. He then starred as Baron Che- 



54 Famous Actors. 

vrial. In support of Minnie Maddern he 
played at the Lyceum Theatre Herr Kraft in 
" In Spite of All," Steele Mackaye's version of 
Sardou's " Andrea." In Boston he was Koko 
in "The Mikado," in John Stetson's com- 
pany. Then he received the manuscript of 
" Prince Karl " from A. C. Gunter, and pro- 
duced that bright little play at the Boston 
Museum in April, 1886. Later he took the 
play to New York, where it had a successful 
summer run, and in the fall, supported by 
his own company, Mr. Mansfield went on a 
tour, presenting " Prince Karl " and " A Paris- 
ian Romance." Later he brought out in 
Boston his hideous, but strangely fascinating, 
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," and after that 
his own delicate play, " Monsieur," in which 
he acted Andre Jadot. 

In the summer of 1889 Mr. Mansfield ac- 
cepted Henry Irving's invitation to occupy 
the Lyceum Theatre. During the engage- 
ment, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "A 



Richard Mansfield. 55 

Parisian Romance," "Prince Karl," and 
" Lesbia," a one-act play, in which Beatrice 
Cameron, now Mrs. Mansfield, appeared, 
were presented ; but Mr. Mansfield cannot 
be said to have made any lasting impression 
until his magnificent production of Shake- 
speare's "Richard III.," which took place at 
the Globe Theatre. That had a run of 
eighty-nine performances, the longest the 
play had ever known in London, and it was 
still drawing well when hot weather put an 
end to the season. In the fall Mr. Mansfield 
brought his "Richard III." to this country, 
and presented it first in Boston and then in 
New York. The public support was good 
but not great, and the play, being acted and 
staged on such an elaborate scale that noth- 
ing but crowded houses were profitable, was 
withdrawn after a month's run in New 
York. 

Mr. Mansfield's next production was Clyde 
Fitch's " Beau Brummel," which was followed 



56 Famous Actors. 

by " Don Juan," of which Mr. Mansfield him- 
self was the author. The fall of 1891 saw 
T. Russell Sullivan's " Nero," which was 
only moderately successful. In February, 
1892, Mr. Mansfield produced "Ten Thou- 
sand a Year," a failure, and after that his 
own dramatisation of Hawthorne's "A 
Scarlet Letter." October, 1893, was marked 
by a revival of " The Merchant of Venice." 
Since that time Mr. Mansfield has been 
identified with George Bernard Shaw's 
" Arms and the Man ; " Lorimer Stoddard's 
"Scenes from the Life of Napoleon Bona- 
parte," "The King of Peru," "The Story of 
Rodion the Student," "The First Violin," 
"Castle Sombras," "The Devil's Disciple," 
and " Cyrano de Bergerac." 

In the spring of 1895 Mr. Mansfield se- 
cured possession of Harrigan's old theatre 
on Thirty-fifth Street, New York, which he 
opened auspiciously on April 2 2d, as the 
Garrick, and attempted to run on the actor- 



Richard Mansfield. 57 

manager plan so popular in London. A 
serious illness dashed his hopes, however, 
and the next fall he was obliged to give up 
the enterprise. 



CHAPTER IV. 

E. M. HOLLAND. 

Edmund Milton Holland's career as an 
actor is a remarkable record of constancy. 
He made his professional debut in 1866, and 
a year later he became a member of Lester 
Wallack's famous New York company, with 
which he remained until 1880. Then, after 
a visit to England with McKee Rankin, and 
after a few engagements in New York, he 
joined the Madison Square Theatre Company, 
first under the Mallorys and Daniel Froh- 
man and then under A. M. Palmer, who was 
his manager until 1895, when Edmund Hol- 
land and his brother Joseph began their 

starring tour. Next Mr. Holland joined 
58 




E. M. HOLLAND. 



E. M. Holland. 59 

Charles Frohman's forces, and there he bids 
fair to remain for "some time. 

Last season Mr. Holland was the chief 
feature of Alexandre Bisson's farce, " On and 
Off." It is not often that one finds a farce 
that is good all the way through, a farce that 
is without a stumbling opening, that does not 
take half an act to get going, that does not 
halt or limp somewhere in the second act, or 
that does not end in a palpably nonsensical 
fashion. " On and Off " was almost unique 
in that its fun started at once fast and furi- 
ous, and never stopped for an instant until 
the curtain fell on the last act. 

But if the farce itself was good, the acting 
was better, and this was as it should have 
been. No farce was ever written that could 
not be ruined by poor acting, and it is equally 
true that many a poor farce has been pulled 
through by the strenuous efforts of the mum- 
mers. The farcical ratio under the most 
favourable circumstances is something like 



62 Famous Actors. 

valet, Jenkins Hanby, in " A Social Highway- 
man," the play in which Edmund and Joseph 
Holland starred. That was a character study 
pure and simple, and an exceedingly difficult 
one ; for the actor did not rely, but to a very 
slight degree, on make-up to aid in the ex- 
position of the character. He seemed rather 
to assume mentally the moral peculiarities of 
the jailbird and servant, and then to let them 
show forth in suggestive physical mannerisms. 
There was a suspicion of the criminal in the 
way he bore himself, in the hang of his head, 
in the stoop of his shoulders, in his stealthy 
step and furtive glances. The face was 
clean-shaven, and the dress was without 
eccentricity. Yet Mr. Holland completely 
individualised the character from any other 
that he had ever played. 

The ability to sink one's personality even 
momentarily in a character is a rare gift, 
but rarer still is the power to sustain the 
deception for any length of time. This 



E. M. Holland. 63 

latter Mr. Holland can do with remarkable 
success. Take half a dozen of his best known 
roles, — his Captain Redwood in " Jim the 
Penman," his Mr. Gardner in " Captain 
Swift," his Berkeley Bruce in " Aunt Jack," 
his Colonel Moberly in "Alabama," his 
Jenkins Hanby in " A Social Highwayman," 
and his George Godfray in " On and Off," — 
try to figure out from them what manner of 
man E. M. Holland is, try to imagine what 
he looks like even. You will find yourself 
at first puzzled and in the end defeated. 

Mr. Holland is the second son of George 
Holland, who was himself a popular light 
comedy actor, and who died in 1870. It 
was an incident connected with George 
Holland's funeral that stirred up much 
feeling in theatrical circles against the 
Rev. Dr. Sabine, of New York, and led to 
the rechristening of the Church of the Trans- 
figuration in that city. Doctor Sabine de- 
clined to officiate at George Holland's funeral 



64 Famous Actors. 

services, because of Mr. Holland's connection 
with the stage, and remarked that there was 
a little church around the corner where 
things of that kind were done. Whereupon 
Joseph Jefferson exclaimed: "God bless the 
little church around the corner ! " Ever 
since that time actors have regarded with 
especial affection "The Little Church 
Around the Corner." 

E. M. Holland was born in New York, on 
September 7, 1848. His first public appear- 
ance was made when, as a baby, he was car- 
ried on the stage in the play, "To Parents 
and Guardians," in which his father was ap- 
pearing. Later, when about six years old, 
he appeared in "The Day after the Fair." 
He went to school in New York until he was 
fifteen years old, when he became call-boy in 
Mrs. John Wood's Olympic Theatre, which 
had formerly been Laura Keene's Theatre. 
Here, in addition to his other duties, he was 
occasionally used on the stage in some emer- 



E. M. Holland. 65 

gency, but he did not completely evolve into 
an actor until 1 866, when he was engaged to 
play small parts at Barnum's Museum, on the 
corner of Broadway and Spring Street. At 
this time, and even after he joined Wallack's 
company, Mr. Holland was known as E. 
Milton. 

After leaving Barnum's Museum, Mr. Hol- 
land appeared with Joseph Jefferson in the 
original production in New York of Dion 
Boucicault's version of " Rip Van Winkle," 
and immediately after that he began his long 
connection with Lester Wallack's house, ap- 
pearing first in "A New Way to Pay Old 
Debts," in which E. L. Davenport starred. 
Mr. Holland's greatest success at this the- 
atre was Silky in "The Road to Ruin," and 
well liked, too, were his Beau Farintosh 
in " Caste," and his Samuel Gerridge in 
" School." Among the players with whom 
he acted were Charles Mathews, John Gil- 
bert, George Honey, Charles Fisher, Ada 



66 Famous Actors. 

Dyas, Madame Ponisi, J. H. Stoddart, 
Charles Stevenson, and Dion Boucicault. 

Just after leaving Wallack's, in 1880, Mr. 
Holland appeared as Riffidini in " French 
Flats," under A. M. Palmer's management, 
and then went to London with McKee Ran- 
kin, where he acted the Judge in "The 
Danites " at Sadler's Wells Theatre. A 
tour of England, Scotland, and Ireland 
followed, after which Mr. Holland returned 
to New York. 

In Henry E. Abbey's company, at the 
Park Theatre, he created the character of 
Major McTurtle in " Mother-in-law," and also 
appeared as the Deacon in "After the Ball." 
His connection with the Madison Square 
Theatre began in 1882, when the Mallorys 
engaged him to act Pittacus Green in 
" Hazel Kirke," with one of the travelling 
companies. Then Daniel Frohman took the 
theatre, and during the two years that he was 
in charge Mr. Holland appeared as the Tailor 



E. M. Holland. 67 

in "The Private Secretary," and on the road 
as the Lawyer in " Young Mrs. Winthrop," 
and Old Rogers in "Esmeralda." When 
Mr. Palmer succeeded Mr. Frohman, Mr. 
Holland became a prominent member of 
Palmer's Madison Square Theatre Company. 
His characters included Gawain in " Elaine," 
the unctuous Lot Burden in " Saints and 
Sinners," the suave Captain Redwood in 
"Jim the Penman," Pichot in "The Martyr," 
the elegant Mr. Gardner in " Captain Swift," 
Doctor Chetell in " Heart of Hearts," 
Berkeley Bruce in " Aunt Jack," Mr. Belair 
in "Partners," Uncle Gregory in "A Pair 
of Spectacles," and Colonel Moberly in "Ala- 
bama." In " The Rajah " he first played Jekyl 
and then Jocelyn. He was also in the casts 
of " Sealed Instructions," " Dinner at Eight," 
and " Sunlight and Shadow." 

After the stock company was transferred 
to Palmer's Theatre, Mr. Holland appeared 
as Colonel Carter in "Colonel Carter of 



.•to— - «*^ 



68 Famous Actors. 

Cartersville," Lord August Lorton in " Lady 
Windermere's Fan," Cortland Crandall in 
" New Blood," and Colonel Cazenove in 
"The New Woman." In the double bill 
of "Twilight" and "Two Old Boys," he as- 
sumed the part of a young man in the first 
play, and he and James H. Stoddart were 
the "old boys," in the second. He sup- 
ported Olga Nethersole at Palmer's Theatre 
on her first visit to this country, and during 
the season of 1893-94 he played a long en- 
gagement in San Francisco. Just before his 
venture as a star he acted in "The Found- 
ling " at Hoyt's Theatre, New York. 

The Holland brothers made their debuts 
as stars in the Garrick Theatre, New York, 
on September 2, 1895, in "A Man with a 
Past." They were under the management 
of Richard Mansfield, and when he was taken 
ill they were given the privilege of bringing 
out " A Social Highwayman," in which Mr. 
Mansfield had intended to appear himself. 



E. M. Holland. 69 

" A Social Highwayman " was dramatised by 
Murray A. Stone from a novel by Elizabeth 
Phipps Train. Although the Hollands met 
with gratifying success in the larger cities, 
they were unable firmly to establish them- 
selves as stellar attractions. 



CHAPTER V. 

EDWARD H. SOTHERN. 

Edward H. Sothern, the second son of 
E. A. Sothern, the famous English comedian 
and creator of Lord Dundreary, was born in 
New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 6, 
1859, as the following laconic entry in his 
father's memorandum book under that date 
conclusively shows : " Boy born at 79 Bien- 
ville Street at 7 a. m. Named Edward." E. 
A. Sothern had three sons : Lytton, the old- 
est, now dead ; Edward, and Sam, also an 
actor and at present in England. When E. 
A. Sothern returned home in 1864 to show 
Londoners his great character of Dundreary, 
he took his family with him. The father 
70 




EDWARD H. SOTHERN 
As D'Artagnan in " The King's Musketeer. 



Edward H. Sothern. 7 1 

intended that Edward should be a painter, 
and with that end in view Edward studied 
drawing in England. In 1875 the boy re- 
turned to America with his father on a 
holiday visit, and four years later, when 
E. A. Sothern was about to leave England 
to fill a theatrical engagement in the United 
States, "Eddie," as he was called to dis- 
tinguish him from his father, announced his 
intention of going, too, with the ulterior pur- 
pose of becoming an actor. E. A. Sothern 
objected, but the youth's mind was fixed, 
and he made his debut at Abbey's Park 
Theatre, Broadway, New York, in Septem- 
ber, 1879, as tne cabman in "Sam." He 
amusingly described this experience in Kate 
Field's Washington: 

" All I had to do was to appear, carry my 
hand to my head and say, ' Half a crown, 
your honour ; I think you won't object.' 
Not much, surely, but the business so ab- 
sorbed my agitated brain that I forgot the 



J 2 Famous Actors. 

words and stood staring at my father, who 
kept saying, ' Go on, go on ! ' His talking 
to me when I thought he ought to be talking 
to the public upset me still more, and, instead 
of going on, I went off. Father was very 
angry and wouldn't give me another chance. 
'Poor Eddie,' he wrote to dear old Mrs. 
Vincent of the Boston Museum, 'is a nice, 
lovable boy, but he will never make an 
actor.' " 

The boy's next experience was at the Bos- 
ton Museum, where he appeared in October, 
and, according to Miss Mary Shaw, who made 
her professional debut at the same time, his 
first attempt there ended similarly to his 
New York one. At the Museum, however, 
he got a chance to redeem himself, and was 
really quite a favourite when his three or four 
months' engagement ended. The following 
season he played low comedy parts in John 
McCullough's company, with which he re- 
mained until his father's death in 1881. 



Edward H. Sothern. 73 

" With McCullough, the tragedian, — Ge- 
nial John, as he was known to all his friends, 
— I played only the smallest parts," said Mr. 
Sothern, " sometimes much more pedestrian 
than elocutionary. I remember a laughable 
occurrence at a small town where he and 
Lawrence Barrett were appearing together 
in ' Richard III.' ' Supers ' were very 
scarce, and when the evening arrived, it 
was discovered that we must depend upon 
our own resources for the armies of the con- 
tending powers. This meant that I, as the 
youngest and most inexperienced member of 
the company, should alone go on, first as the 
army of the crooked-backed tyrant, and later, 
with a slight change of costume, as the con- 
quering forces of the outraged and heroic 
Richmond. 

" Most of our auditors were miners, and 
their comments on the play were forcible 
and pointed as the action proceeded. What 
they would say or do when they saw the 



74 Famous Actors. 

wonderfully similar opposing armies was 
the constant surmise of the company dur- 
ing the evening, and my natural nervousness 
was not much calmed by the suggestions of 
my associates how best to dodge when the 
audience began to throw things. The effect 
upon Mr. Barrett was to raise him to more 
than his usual tension, while with Mr. Mc- 
Cullough it seemed to be a huge joke and 
brought forward his propensities for guying. 
" When Richard and his army entered the 
trouble began, and poor Mr. Barrett had 
great difficulty in finishing his speech to his 
shivering, almost fainting, soldier. When 
Mr. McCullough entered, I followed as 
though going to my death. Great was my 
surprise, however, when Mr. McCullough 
turned toward me, and, with the full strength 
of his thundering voice, said, instead of the 
lines of the scene : ' Come on, my solitary 
cuss, and, hang me, if we don't lick all Eng- 
land.' The house was as still as death for 



Edward H. Sot hern. 75 

an instant, and then broke forth into vocifer- 
ous cheering. From that moment McCul- 
lough 'had them,' and when late in the 
combat scene he shouted to his antagonist, 
1 If Barrett's fit to live, then let McCullough 
die,' the applause was deafening. It was a 
scene long to be remembered, and nothing 
but Barrett and McCullough in 'Richard 
III.' was talked of in that town for years 
afterward, when theatrical subjects were 
alluded to." 

After his father died, Mr. Sothern went to 
England and remained with his mother until 
she passed away a year later. Then he 
travelled through the British provinces with 
his brother Lytton, who was playing his 
father's character of Dundreary and also 
David Garrick. Late in the summer of 
1883, Edward returned to the United 
States, poor as poverty, and after much 
discouragement was compelled to take a 
second engagement with McCullough to act 



7 6 Famous Actors. 

just the same parts that he had assumed two 
years before. This proved to be McCul- 
lough's last season on the stage, and when 
it reached its tragic end, Mr. Sothern was 
again thrown on his own resources. Then 
came his amusing adventures with the farce, 
"Whose Are They?" of which he was the 
author. Mr. Sothern tells the story as 
follows : 

" I pursued managers until I got some of 
them to hear me read my mad farce. Dur- 
ing the reading I did all sorts of absurd 
things, and several that heard it were really 
quite taken with it. While I was cogitating 
on the way to get it before the public, an 
agent wanted some attraction for a benefit 
to be given in Baltimore for the police. ' I'll 
go,' I said. There were seven dramatis per- 
sona in the piece, and the management 
offered me $300. Four weeks I rehearsed 
those actors, and when the night came the 
farce went uproariously. I thought my for- 



Edward H. Sothern. J J 

tune secure, and with the remnants of my 
$300 I gave a supper to my company. I 
tried Brooklyn. Result, fine notices and 
$400. My next ambition was to feel the 
pulse of New York, and I accepted ruinous 
terms for two weeks at the Star Theatre. 
The first week was all right financially ; the 
second week swept everything away. Yet, 
buoyed up by the hope that springs eternal 
in the human breast, I took out a company 
for ten weeks, and we went to pieces in 
Chicago. I left my luggage to secure my 
bills, and returned to New York, where I 
once more read my farce to various mana- 
gers. Harrison and Gourley were delighted 
with it. They proved their faith by paying 
me $500 down for immediate possession, and 
promising me $1,500 more, if, after a week's 
trial, the piece was a go. Gourley went so 
far as to exclaim, 'Why do you want to act 
when you can write plays like this ? ' Calling 
the farce ' Domestic Earthquakes,' these 



7 8 Famous Actors. 

managers produced it in Boston with dire 
results. 'Veal and green peas,' said the 
press. I did not receive the expected 
$1,500, and I've never looked at ' Domestic 
Earthquakes ' since." 

Next Mr. Sothern was engaged by Charles 
Frohman for " Nita's First," and subsequently 
played in " Three Wives to One Husband." 
Later he supported Estelle Clayton in "Fa- 
vette " in New York and on tour. In 1884 
he appeared with Helen Dauvray in " Mona," 
continuing with her through two seasons, 
during which time he played Prosper Coura- 
mont in " A Scrap of Paper," Doctor Lee in 
" Met by Chance," Ernest Vane in " Peg 
Woffington," Wildrake in " The Love Chase," 
Andre in " Walda Lamar," and Captain Greg- 
ory in " One of Our Girls," This last charac- 
ter he acted in 1886, and from that moment 
his fortunes took an upward turn. In the 
spring of 1887 Daniel Frohman gave him a 
chance to appear as Jack Hammerton in 



Edward H. Sothern. 79 

" The Highest Bidder," and his success was 
so great that he began his starring career in 
that play the following fall. 

" The Highest Bidder " was a light comedy 
by John Madison Morton, the author of " Box 
and Cox" and a number of other English 
farces, and Robert Reece. It was found 
among the effects of the elder Sothern, 
who had named it " Trade." Edward Sothern 
touched it up, rewrote parts of it, and gave 
it its new title. 

During the season of 1887-88, while star- 
ring in " The Highest Bidder," Mr. Sothern 
brought out "Editha's Burglar," in which he 
played Bill Lewis, the burglar, the best part 
he had had up to that time. This produc- 
tion also introduced to the public the child 
actress, Elsie Leslie, later one of the most 
famous of the little Lord »Fauntleroys, and 
last season a member of the Joseph Jefferson 
company. " Lord Chumley," which Belasco 
and DeMille wrote for Mr. Sothern, was 



80 Famous Actors. 

first acted in the fall of 1888, and proved 
a great success. Mr. Sothern hesitated a 
long time before he decided to try this char- 
acter, as he feared that it had qualities that 
might bring him into too direct comparison 
with his father as Dundreary. His fears 
were groundless, however, for his treatment 
of the part was original throughout. Mr. 
Sothern had now become a recognised fac- 
tor in the American theatre, and his new 
characters, each one showing a decided ad- 
vance in authority and artistic ease, added 
constantly to his reputation as a come- 
dian. 

" Captain Lettarblair " and "The Maister 
of Woodbarrow" followed "Lord Chumley," 
and then came " The Dancing Girl," which 
afforded Mr. Sothern a character of remark- 
able subtlety. It was a strong bit of acting, 
excelling in finesse and suggestive repose. 
"The Victoria Cross," a melodramatic play, 
dealing with the mutiny in India, was not 



. 



Edward H. Sothern. 8 1 

a success, but its successor, " The Way to 
Win a Woman," by Jerome K. Jerome, first 
played at the Hollis Street Theatre, Boston, 
in 1894, gave further evidence of the in- 
creased power of the actor. Paul Potter's 
costume play, " Sheridan, or the Maid of 
Bath," an ingenuous compilation from Rich- 
ard Brinsley Sheridan's comedies, preceded 
" The Prisoner of Zenda," which ushered in 
the third period of Mr. Sothern's develop- 
ment. He now became recognised as a 
romantic actor, and "An Enemy to the 
King" was a natural sequence. "Change 
Alley," Mr. Sothern's next venture, proved 
to be a very bad play, and " The Lady of 
Lyons " was substituted, with the star as 
Claude Melnotte. Sir George, in Anthony 
Hope's " The Adventure of Lady Ursula," 
followed, but this character made no extra- 
ordinary demand on the actor's art. Last 
season he was seen in " A Colonial Girl," 
a drama of Revolutionary times, by Grace 



82 Famous Actors. 

Livingston Furniss and Abby Sage Richard- 
son, and " The King's Musketeer," Henry 
Hamilton's version of Dumas's "The Three 
Musketeers." 

" The King's Musketeer " was an elabo- 
rately staged affair, and a tremendous popu- 
lar success. That is about all the good that 
can be said of it, for such a frankly theat- 
rical play never was seen before. To the 
character of D'Artagnan Mr. Sothern gave 
the proper amount of dash and spirit and 
unconscious humour. His naivete in the 
opening scenes was capital, and particularly 
attractive were those sharp, wide-open eyes 
that so well expressed wonder, curiosity, and 
native shrewdness. Aside from its super- 
ficial swagger, which comes as a sort of 
second nature to the actor skilled in roman- 
tic parts, and the necessary prominence of 
the character, there was nothing in the role 
that appealed to the actor, no imagination, no 
depth of motive, no heart. 



Edward H. Sot hern. 8 3 

To complete the story of Mr. Sothern's 
private life it is but necessary to add that 
in 1896 he married Virginia Harned, who 
for several seasons had been his leading 
lady. 



CHAPTER VI. 

JOHN DREW. 

John Drew's theatrical career naturally 
divides itself into three periods : From 1873, 
the time he made his debut in the Arch 
Street Theatre, Philadelphia, which was then 
under the management of his mother, until 
1879, when he became leading man of Au- 
gustin Daly's New York company ; from 
1879 till 1892, when he became a star; 
and from 1892 until the present time. A 
keen estimate of Mr. Drew was that of 
William Winter, who had been familiar with 
the actor's work for years. The criticism 
appeared in the New York Tribune of 
October 4, 1892, the morning after Mr. 
84 




JOHN DREW. 



John Drew. 85 

Drew's first appearance as a star in " The 
Masked Ball." Mr. Winter said : 

" Mr. Drew is especially welcome because 
he represents, in the art of comedy, the 
spirit of youth and hope and joy. In our 
utilitarian civilisation there is need of the 
joyous element, and men and women by 
whom it is imported are public benefactors. 
The ministration of mere hilarity, indeed, is 
an influence that has been pushed to excess, 
and it ought to be repressed rather than 
invigorated ; for it promotes vacuity of 
mind, pertness, slang, and a coarse and com- 
mon strain of manners. The ministration of 
joy, on the contrary, is a sweet and gentle 
influence, diffusing refinement, humour, and 
kindness, and its augmented prosperity must 
ever be deemed a public benefit. In each 
successive theatrical generation this spirit has 
had its representatives, — actors who have 
gained the affection as well as the admiration 
of the people by contributing to make them 



86 Famous Actors. 

happy. Estcourt and Wilks and Lee Lewis 
and Bannister, the late Charles Mathews, 
and the late Lester Wallack, were artists of 
that kind, and John Drew comes of that 
lineage, and surely has earned a rank in that 
honourable company. 

" The American audience of to-day is not 
prone to precipitate recognition of fine abili- 
ties in persons who do not claim preeminence. 
Amid the strife and din of the passing hour 
you must blow a trumpet if you wish to be 
heard. The actor who has proved his right 
should not be hastily censured for wishing to 
see his name printed in capital letters at the 
head of the bill. Many spectators will discern 
virtues in him, when that is done, which they 
never perceived before. It is the way of the 
world. And yet, in the case of Mr. Drew, a 
liberal measure of popular appreciation might 
well be assumed. His presence for years 
has been delightfully familiar. He is an 
image of grace. He possesses repose, indi- 



John Drew. 87 

viduality, coolness, drollery, the talent of 
apparent spontaneity, and the faculty of 
crisp emotion, his countenance is not mobile ; 
his style is not distinctly flexible ; and he has 
never yet shown the impetuosity, the over- 
whelming brilliance, the ' gig' of such fine old 
comedy actors as Frederick and Murdock and 
Mathews and Wallack, at their best. He 
notably fell short of their standard, for in- 
stance, in ' Mirabel ; ' he has yet to win their 
laurels in such characters as Harry Dornton 
and Doricourt and Don Felix. 

" On the other hand, he gained an admira- 
ble eminence as Charles Surface, and he has 
surpassed all the young actors of his day as 
the gay cavalier and the bantering farceur of 
the drawing-room drama of modern social 
life. His grace, person, and temperament are 
admirably harmonious with characters of the 
strain denoted by Sir Charles Coldstream 
and by Jasper, — opposites, yet participants 
in the same elemental qualities. His vein of 



88 Famous Actors. 

quizzical wonder is natural, and it is uncom- 
monly rich and deep. He can alternate bland 
composure with playful celerity, and he can 
create effects of mirth with both. He speaks 
the language clearly, sweetly, and with fine 
precision. He knows the full value of the 
pause, the glance, the inflection, the sapient 
look, and the demure manner. He is delight- 
ful in the vein of equivoke, and has an abso- 
lute command of it. He is thoroughly in 
earnest, and his attitude toward his art is that 
of intellectual purpose and authority. Mr. 
Drew's acting, furthermore, is illumined with 
the lustre of high principle, personal purity, 
and a life of thought and refinement. Noble- 
ness and grace in art are absolutely depend- 
ent on nobleness and grace in life ; no actor 
reaches the distinction to which Mr. Drew 
has attained without deserving it." 

Mr. Drew was born in Philadelphia, in 
November, 1853. He was the son of John 
Drew, one of the best all-round comedians 



John Drew. 89 

and Irish character actors that this country 
has ever known, and Mrs. John Drew, best 
known to the latter generation as Mrs. Mala- 
prop in the Joseph Jefferson productions of 
"The Rivals." John Drew, Sr., died in 1862, 
while he was manager of the Arch Street 
Theatre, and after his death, Mrs. Drew took 
charge of the theatre and maintained a stock 
company there until the fall of 1877. Mrs. 
Drew died on August 31, 1897, at the ad- 
vanced age of seventy-seven years. 

John Drew made his first appearance on 
the stage in his mother's theatre on March 
23, 1873, as Plumber in Charles Mathews's 
farce, "Cool as a Cucumber." His second 
part was Hornblower in " The Laughing 
Hyena," and others of his characters were 
Adolph de Courtroy in " The Captain of the 
Watch," Cummy in "Betsy Baker," Captain 
Crosstree in " Black-eyed Susan," Dolly 
Spanker in " London Assurance," Gaspar 
in "The Lady of Lyons," and Modas in 



90 Famous Actors. 

" The Hunchback." Mr. Drew remained 
in Philadelphia two years, " without," as he 
expressed it, " playing roles that made a 
particular impression with the audience or 
myself." 

Augustin Daly first saw Mr. Drew act in 
1875. The character was Major Alfred 
Steele, in a comedy called "Women of the 
Day." Mr. Daly bought the play and pro- 
duced it at his New York theatre with James 
Lewis in the leading part. A few weeks 
later he made Mr. Drew an offer, which was 
accepted, and in February, 1875, Mr. Drew 
appeared with the Daly company as Bob 
Ruggles in "The Big Bonanza." In 1876 
he played his first Shakespearian role, Rosen- 
cranz in " Hamlet," when Edwin Booth was 
occupying Daly's theatre by special arrange- 
ment. He also acted Exton in " Richard II.," 
Francois in "Richelieu," Francis in "The 
Stranger," Glavis in " The Lady of Lyons," 
and Hortensio in "The Taming of the 



John Drew. 91 

Shrew." Two seasons were spent touring 
the country with Fanny Davenport, whose 
repertory included " As You Like It " and a 
number of the Daly plays, one of them 
" Pique." After Mr. Daly gave up the 
Fifth Avenue Theatre, Mr. Drew acted one 
season with Frederick Warde and Maurice 
Barrymore, who were starring in " Diplo- 
macy." 

When Mr. Daly established his new thea- 
tre in 1879, Mr. Drew became the leading 
man of the company, of which Ada Rehan 
was the leading lady, and this position Mr. 
Drew retained until 1892. Among the 
Shakespearian plays in which he appeared 
were "The Taming of the Shrew," "As You 
Like It," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," 
" Love's Labours Lost," and " The Merry 
Wives of Windsor." He also acted in the 
various revivals of old comedies such as 
"The Inconstant," "She Would and She 
Wouldn't," "The Country Girl," and "The 



92 Famous Actors. 

School for Scandal." It would make a long 
list to cite all the plays produced at Daly's in 
which he acted light comedy roles. They 
included all of Mr. Daly's adaptations, such 
as "The Lottery of Love," "The Railroad of 
Love," "Dollars and Sense," "A Night 
Off," " Seven-Twenty-Eight," " Nancy and 
Co.," "The Last Word," and "Love in 
Tandem." Mr. Drew went to London with 
the Daly company in 1884, 1886, 1888, and 
1890. 

Since he became a star, Mr. Drew has 
acted, besides his first play, "The Masked 
Ball," Frederick Ossian in Henry Guy Carle- 
ton's "The Butterflies," "Christopher, Jr.," 
by Madeline Lucette Riley, "The Bauble 
Shop," by Henry Arthur Jones, Sir Jasper 
Thorndyke in " Rosemary," " A Marriage of 
Convenience," Major Dick Rudyard in "One 
Summer's Day," by Henry V. Esmond, and 
Sir Christopher Deering in " The Liars," by 
Henry Arthur Jones. 



John Drew. 93 

" The Liars " was a typical Henry Arthur 
Jones drama, brilliantly witty, keenly satiri- 
cal, frankly cynical, and absolutely artificial. 
There was just enough truth in the play to 
drive home the satire, and consequently the 
comedy was very amusing, — it is always fun 
to have the other fellow hit, and Mr. Jones 
hit him hard and often. Mr. Drew had a 
character whose chief duty was to meddle 
adroitly in everybody else's business, and he 
acted it with that easy, nonchalant, man-of- 
the-world air of which he is a complete mas- 
ter. There was a bit of honest human nature 
in the last act, and Mr. Drew was convinc- 
ingly sincere when he placed before the 
erring Lady Jessica Mr. Jones's worldly-wise 
argument about a married woman's duty to 
herself, her family, and society. Mr. Jones, 
too, was thoroughly in earnest when he wrote 
the argument, the only one that would have 
moved the pretty, deceitful, selfish, and nar- 
row-minded butterfly of fashion. 



CHAPTER VII. 

WILLIAM FAVERSHAM. 

William Faversham is what is called, in 
the "gush" columns of the Sunday news- 
papers, " a matinee girl's ideal," but in addi- 
tion to that he is a very good actor. For 
three seasons Mr. Faversham has held the 
position of leading man in Charles Frohman's 
Empire Theatre Company, certainly as good 
an organisation as we have in the country, 
and his work during that time has always 
been excellent and occasionally more than 
that. Still, while recognising the adequacy of 
his technique and the general sufficiency of 
his art, one might wish for more spontaneity, 
more frankness, and more positiveness in his 
acting. A little less artificiality and a little 
94 




WILLIAM FAVERSHAM 
As Eric Von Rodeck in "The Conquerors. 



William Faversham. 95 

more nature would add wonderfully to the 
effectiveness of Mr. Faversham' s work on 
the stage. 

Physically, he is a handsome fellow, tall, 
broad-shouldered, and manly-looking. He 
suggests the masculine ; he looks muscular, 
vigorous and healthy. He is a modern 
young man, under all circumstances, with an 
indescribable up-to-dateness even when ar- 
rayed as Romeo in sixteenth century gar- 
ments. Mr. Faversham is at his best in 
characters requiring buoyancy and vivacity of 
spirits and rapid and energetic action, — ac- 
tion, moreover, that is open, and above board 
without subtilty or ingenuousness. For this 
reason, while he makes a splendid lover during 
heroic moments, when there is danger to be 
overcome or enemies to be conquered, he is 
not so successful in the role of the sentimental 
lover. He does not propose well. This 
may seem a trivial and foolish point, but it 
really is not to the actor who holds the posi- 



96 Famous Actors. 

tion of leading man in a prominent company. 
He may act ten or a dozen different charac- 
ters in a season, yet always he is in love, and 
nine times out of ten he has to propose. 
Some players seem to have the knack of 
" P°ppi n g the question " prettily born in them 
and apparently make love by instinct. John 
Mason, who used to be leading man at the Bos- 
ton Museum Stock Company, was such a one, 
and his wooing set every susceptible heart 
in the theatre to fluttering. Others acquire 
the art, and still others seem never to be 
able to act the part of the lover. It was so 
with Edwin Booth. 

Mr. Faversham apparently is not a natural 
lover, but there surely is no reason why he 
should not be educated into one. Judging, 
not by the sad and sorrowful expression of 
his countenance when he folds in his arms a 
young woman who warrants a smile at least, 
but by the sympathetic atmosphere which he 
unquestionably does create at such a moment, 



William Faversham. 97 

Mr. Faversham is not altogether in ignorance 
of the emotion that he is trying to convey. 
If the theory be true that he has the concep- 
tion all right, but fails fully to express it, he 
should be able without much difficulty to 
remedy this fault. 

In Erie Von Rosdeck, the Babe in 
"The Conquerors," — Paul Potter's audacious 
drama, whose immorality was not half so 
startling as one might think after reading 
what the critics said about it, — Mr. Faver- 
sham had a character very much in his line. 
There was action, plenty of it, and often 
brutally pointed. There were to be por- 
trayed the masculine vices and one or two — 
possibly only one — of the masculine virtues. 
There were military uniforms to be worn, 
and there was no love-making — of the nice, 
genteel sort I mean. Mr. Faversham' s Lord 
Wheatley, in "Phroso," was another capital 
impersonation, attractive as a personality, full 
of life and virility, and interesting as a char- 



98 Famous Actors. 

acterisation. Unfortunately, the play itself 
was a melodrama in which coherency had 
been sacrificed to make room for situations. 
" Phroso " made no great impression in either 
Boston or New York, the only two cities 
in which it was represented, and did not 
last any length of time. Mr. Faversham's 
impersonation of Romeo at the end of last 
season was on the whole a successful one. 
He was very modern, to be sure, but that was 
a fault which he shared with nearly every 
young actor of the present time who has tried 
Shakespearian roles. The early scenes of the 
tragedy he played with admirable lightness 
and deftness, though without the touch of 
melancholy and largely without the reserve 
that the text indicates. There was evidence 
of passion in the balcony scene. The dig- 
nity of the first part of the scene with Tybalt 
was marked, and the duel was fought with re- 
alistic ferocity. The showing of grief when 
the decree of banishment was learned was not 



William Faversham. 99 

weakened by overacting, and the death scene 
was really tragic. 

William Faversham is an Englishman. He 
was born in 1868 and was educated for the 
army. He attended the grammar school 
at Chigwell, one of the preparatory schools 
for Harrow. Charles Dickens's " Barnaby 
Rudge" is placed at Chigwell, and it was in 
the midst of the scenes depicted in that novel 
that Mr. Faversham passed his boyhood. He 
went next to Harrow, and when he finished 
his schooling there, the opportunity came to 
send a number of youngsters to India to join 
the English forces in that country. Mr. 
Faversham had two brothers in the Fif- 
teenth Hussars, and when he was sixteen 
years old he went to Bombay to join that 
regiment as a petty officer. 

Marie de Gray, an actress, was touring 
India at the time, and with her was an actor 
named Piffard, with whom Mr. Faversham 
became acquainted. The soldier soon grew 



ioo Famous Actors. 

to feel more interest in the stage than he 
did in the barracks. " I enjoyed the military 
schools, especially the riding school, but I 
did not care for army life," said Mr. Faver- 
sham. It was his friend Piffard that finally 
advised him to quit soldiering and turn 
player. 

The Afghan war broke out while the ques- 
tion was under consideration, and the Fif- 
teenth Hussars were ordered to the front. 
Mr. Faversham's brothers succeeded in get- 
ting him invalided home just in time to es- 
cape the fighting. Mr. Faversham lost his 
two brothers and a cousin in that war. " Of 
course my going home was a farce," he re- 
marked. " I was perfectly well, but I was glad 
enough to get back to England, just the same. 
By sending me this way I got my passage, 
and simply had to report to headquarters in 
London and get my discharge papers." 

No sooner was he free from the army than 
he began to prepare himself for the stage. 



William Faversham. 101 

He studied first with Charlotte Le Clerq, 
and made his debut at one of her matinees, 
on February 12, 1886, at the Vaudeville 
Theatre, London, with a number of others 
who were her pupils. Mr. Faversham ap- 
peared that afternoon in "The Swiss Cot- 
tage," "Blanche Horlock," and "The Loan 
of a Lover," besides a little comic opera. 
His work attracted enough attention to se- 
cure him an engagement in the provinces. 
At first he played old men, making a try at 
Sir Peter Teazle when he was nineteen years 
old, but the leading man of the company was 
taken sick after a few weeks, and Mr. Faver- 
sham succeeded to his characters, among 
them Charles Surface and Hamlet. 

He next joined a stock company at Rams- 
gate, where he remained seven months. The 
bill was changed several times weekly, and 
the young actor fell heir to all sorts of char- 
acters, among them Claude Melnotte, Lord 
Bertie Cecil in "Moths, " Correze in "Under 



102 Famous Actors. 

Two Flags," and Dick Swiveller. " Many a 
night," said Mr. Faversham, " I lay out on 
the jetty in my topcoat and studied my 
part by the flare of the lighthouse — and fell 
asleep there. One of my greatest successes 
was Quilp, which I played when Horace 
Barry, the manager, who was the husband of 
Maude Elliston, the star of the troupe, fell ill. 
I was very proud of that performance and 
enjoyed it, for I always thought old Quilp a 
great character." 

Mr. Faversham came to the United States 
in 1887 in the company that was brought to 
this country to support the beautiful English 
barmaid, Helen Hastings, whom somebody 
wanted to make over into an actress. She 
appeared at the Union Square Theatre in 
New York, in a play called "Pen and Ink," 
and failed. Two others in her company, who 
remained in the United States, where they 
made positions for themselves, were Ida 
Vernon and W. J. Ferguson. 



William Faversham. 103 

After the Helen Hastings fiasco Mr. Faver- 
sham was engaged by Daniel Frohman to join 
his forces in the fall and to remain with him for 
five years. In the spring he acted for a few 
weeks with E. H. Sothern in " The Highest 
Bidder," and then came summer, and with it 
an experience, regarding which Mr. Faver- 
sham tells the following story : 

" That summer was one of the most inter- 
esting of my whole career to me. At that 
time I was almost a stranger here. I had no 
money. I had possibly earned something 
like twenty dollars a week, and the long 
vacation was before me. I gave up my 
modest room at the hotel, and for a few 
weeks lived as best I could, selling what few 
things I had that could be sold. I finally 
had nothing left but my dog Sambo, a famous 
bull. Every one knows Sambo. 

" Finally I made up my mind that I must 
get work. One day I took my dog and 
walked up Harlem way, until I reached High 



104 Famous Actors. 

Bridge. I stood watching the men at work 
until it occurred to me that I might get 
something like that to do. I went up to a 
man who seemed to be an overseer, and 
asked him if there was any work around that 
a fellow might get to do. I suppose I had 
a very British accent, for the man laughed 
outright and mimicked me as he replied 
that there was work to be had, but he 
doubted if I was the man to do it. I ex- 
plained that the truth of the matter was, I 
had never done anything of that sort before, 
but that I was broke and wanted to get 
through the summer. 

" He sent for a fellow named Tom Pil- 
grim. I'll never forget him. He was the 
plumber-pipe layer. Pilgrim took me home 
with him and taught me his trade. In four 
days I could ' wipe a joint ' like an old hand. 
I worked all that summer. I used to get 
up at half-past four, get to work at five, 
put in my ten hours a day, earn my nine 



William Faversham. 105 

or ten dollars a week, sleep as I had never 
slept in my life, and eat my bread and cheese 
with an appetite and a relish that I have 
vainly sought to duplicate ever since. I 
might never have abandoned that life, and 
returned to acting, but for an accident. 

" I had friends living not far away — Tre- 
mont Avenue. One day I was lying out on 
the grass, looking up in the sky, with Sambo 
by my side, when this family drove by. 
Sambo was too well known. I heard a voice 
I knew call out my name. I took to my 
heels as a natural impulse, and dodged be- 
hind a house. My pursuer went the other 
way. We met. 

"There was nothing for it then but to 
make a clean breast of the whole thing. 
Such a weeping and wailing you never 
heard. Why didn't I tell them my fix ? 
How could I do such a thing? No one 
seemed to understand at all, except the old 
gentleman, who said, * No, by Jove, it's the 



106 Famous Actors, 

proper spirit. It won't hurt him a bit.' 
It didn't, it did me good. But of course, 
now I was discovered, I had to go back 
to civilisation." 

Mr. Faversham's first appearance that fall 
was as Leo in " She." He next played Robert 
Grey in " The Wife," after which Mr. Froh- 
man loaned him to Minnie Maddern, and he 
acted with her Jacob Henderson in " Ca- 
price," Carrol Glendenning in " In Spite of 
All," Valentine and Don Stephano in " Feath- 
erbrain," and Helmer in " A Doll's House." 
When Miss Maddern retired from the stage 
in 1890, Mr. Faversham returned to the 
Lyceum Company, and appeared there as 
Clement Hale in" Sweet Lavender." His next 
engagement was with Elsie Leslie in "The 
Prince and the Pauper," in which he played 
Lord Seymour. The next season Mr. Faver- 
sham acted the leading r61e, Alfred Hast- 
ings, in the New York run of Gillette's 
farce, "All the Comforts of Home." 



William Faverskam. 107 

Mr. Faversham became connected with the 
Empire Theatre Company in 1893, being 
selected after his hit in Bronson Howard's 
" Aristocracy," at Palmer's Theatre. He 
played seconds to Henry Miller, his most 
vivid impersonations being Ned Annesley, in 
" Sowing the Wind," Hubert Garlinge in 
" John-a-Dreams," and Lord Skene in "The 
Masqueraders." In August, 1896, at the 
Baldwin Theatre in San Francisco, he made 
his first appearance as the leading man of 
the Empire Company, acting in " Bohemia," 
" The Councillor's Wife," " The Benefit of the 
Doubt," and " The Masqueraders." The next 
year he was seen as Gil de Berault in 
" Under the Red Robe." Mr. Faversham's 
greatest success last season was as Lord 
Algy in " Lord and Lady Algy," which was pro- 
duced at the Empire Theatre in New York on 
February 14, 1899. Regarding the produc- 
tion of the play in New York, and Mr. Faver- 
ham's part in it, Norman Hapgood wrote : 



108 Famous Actors. 

"This new comedy is far from subtle or 
profound, but it is assuredly smart and in- 
spiring. It is superficial, but the surface is 
amusing. Neat, compact, progressive in con- 
struction, it is sharp and tart in dialogue, 
and clear and dramatic in its situations. The 
author knows his business, an excellent thing 
for an author to know. It belongs to the 
brassy Oscar Wilde type of comedy, but it 
is good after its kind, which is all we need 
to ask. There is no character creation, and 
none is needed. The only jars are, perhaps, 
due to its British origin. We Americans 
do not understand how anybody but chumps 
can have all their thoughts concentrated in 
horses, or make such a fuss, even in fun, 
over cigarettes and drinks. Women smoke 
or they don't, which seems to end the matter. 
This foreign stress on matters, which seem 
to be deemed half sinful and wholly smart, 
doesn't need to be condemned, for it is 
always intelligent to give the unknown the 



William Faversham. 109 

benefit of the doubt. Only fools are so 
terribly horsey in America, but nobody 
accuses Lord Rosebery of being a fool. 

" William Faversham made easily the hit 
of the evening, the largest number of recalls 
after the second act being intended wholly 
for him. In the first act his lack of smart 
comedy manner was noticeable, and his ina- 
bility to stand still or keep his face from 
working violently, but in the more active 
requirements of the second act he was admi- 
rable, and deserved all the applause he got. 
In the third act his seriousness came in prop- 
erly. He is the best actor in the cast, and 
he ought to be able to learn a great deal 
about the smart comedy manner in the next 
few weeks. A good beginning would be to 
drop twenty or thirty of his ' Eh ! What ? ' 
exclamations and turns of the face to the 
audience, and practise on a half blase 
immobility." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

JOHN B. MASON. 

John B. Mason, for many years the lead- 
ing man of the Boston Museum stock com- 
pany, and one of the last year's successes in 
"The Christian," is an actor of magnetic 
personality and more than ordinary art. He 
is versatile to an unusual degree, and time 
and time again has demonstrated his ability 
to play acceptably romantic parts, high grade 
comedy characters, in both classic and mod- 
ern dramas, farcical and even light opera 
roles. He is at his best, perhaps, in com- 
edy, where his fine stage presence, finesse 
in acting, and clear-cut distinction make him 
a figure both attractive and satisfying. To 
the romantic drama he brings grace, dash, 




JOHN B. MASON 
In " Shenandoah." 



John B. Mason. 1 1 1 

and masculine charm, and his inherent sin- 
cerity and complete mastery of technique lend 
conviction and force to the wildest melo- 
drama. In farce he shows deftness and 
lightness of touch, combined with the snap 
and "go" that are so essential to that vari- 
ety of entertainment. He has a sweet-toned 
baritone voice of considerable range, though 
not of great power, which enables him to 
appear to advantage in light opera. 

Mr. Mason makes an ideal leading man, 
as his long service at the Boston Museum 
plainly shows. He appeared at that house, 
not only in many modern dramas, but also in 
the revivals of the old comedies that were for 
a number of seasons an annual event. At 
the Museum, Charles Surface, Harry Don- 
aton, Pomander, Rover Littleton Coke, Daz- 
zle, Dick Dowlas, Captain Absolute, Young 
Marlow, Frederick Bramble, and Bronzely 
were some of the famous characters that 
he impersonated with really marvellous skill 



112 Famous Actors. 

when the mood was on him. Unfortunately, 
he had in those days a not undeserved repu- 
tation for occasional lapses into carelessness 
and indifference. 

"Jack" Mason was born in Orange, N. J., 
in July, 1857, but nevertheless to all practi- 
cal purposes he is a native Bostonian. His 
parents were Daniel and Susan W. Belcher 
Mason, while his grandfather was Lowell 
Mason, the eminent hymnologist. His the- 
atrical career did not begin until after he had 
received a thorough education in Germany, 
France, and Switzerland, though he was 
familiar with the playhouse even as a child. 
The first play he ever saw was " Rosedale," 
with Lester Wallack as Eliot Grey. Mason 
was only two years old at that time, but he 
remembered distinctly the admiration that 
he felt for Grey when he knocked down the 
villain in the first act. 

Mr. Mason was taken to Germany in 1866 
by his mother, who placed him in a boarding- 



John B. Mason. 113 

school in Frankfort. Later he joined his 
father at the Paris Exposition. During the 
summer of 1871 he saw the "Passion Play," 
which was given at Oberammergau that year, 
because in 1870 Joseph Maier, the imper- 
sonator of the Christ, was drafted for service 
during the Franco-Prussian War. After re- 
turning to this country Mr. Mason entered 
Columbia College in 1876, but soon left that 
institution to go on the stage, making his 
professional debut at the Walnut Street 
Theatre, Philadelphia. 

Mr. Mason's first appearance at the Bos- 
ton Museum was on August 25, 1879, when 
the Museum began its thirty-seventh regular 
season with a single night's performance of 
"The School for Scandal." In the cast 
were the long-time favourites, William War- 
ren, Charles Barron, Mrs. Vincent, and 
Annie Clarke. It was the same year that 
William Seymour, May Davenport, and Mary 
Shaw joined the company, but their stay at 



H4 Famous Actors. 

the old house was comparatively brief. Mr. 
Mason, however, — with the exception of two 
seasons, one spent as leading juvenile in the 
Union Square Theatre Company of New 
York, and the other in support of Nat 
Goodwin on the road, — remained in Boston 
until 1890. While Charles Barron was lead- 
ing man, Mr. Mason played the juveniles. 
As the seasons passed, he was given more 
important characters, in which he acquitted 
himself well — when he chose. He became 
leading man after Mr. Barron's retirement, 
assuming in August, 1888, the part of Cap- 
tain Vere in " Bells of Haslemere." Lieut. 
Kerchival West in Bronson Howard's 
" Shenandoah " followed. Others of his 
roles were Horace Bream in " Sweet Lav- 
ender," Eliot Grey in " Rosedale," Charles 
Surface in "School for Scandal," Freddy 
in "The Guv'nor," Joseph Andrews in 
"Joseph's Sweetheart," Bob Brierly in "A 
Ticket-of-Leave Man," Talbot Champreys 



John B. Mason. 1 1 5 

in " Our Boys," Lord Travers in " Hazel 
Kirke," Capt. Dudley Smooth in "Money," 
and Jack Dudley in " Hands Across the 
Sea." 

After Mr. Mason's sudden departure from 
the Museum, in October, 1890, and his mar- 
riage to Marion Manola, the light opera 
soprano, he was next heard of professionally 
at the St. James Theatre, London, in Febru- 
ary, 1 89 1, in support of George Alexander 
in "The Idler." He made a remarkable 
success as Simeon Strong, but this en- 
gagement terminated as abruptly as did his 
connection with the Boston Museum. Com- 
menting on his work in " The Idler," Clement 
Scott said : 

" Mr. John Mason leaped at once into the 
artistic confidence of a highly critical audi- 
ence. . . . The play and the author owe 
everything to Mr. George Alexander and 
the new American comer, Mr. John Mason, 
who reminds us not a little of that ad- 



1 16 Famous Actors. 

mirable American comedian, Mr. Charles 
Thorne." 

Mr. Watson said in the Standard: "A 
most favourable impression was made by a 
new actor, Mr. John Mason, an American, 
who makes his first appearance in London, 
and plays a character which has something 
almost of tragedy, and an element of comedy 
as well, with excellent taste and judgment." 

When Mr. Mason abandoned "The Idler," 
he also abandoned his luck. With his wife 
he attempted a starring tour in William 
Young's "If I Were You," but the play 
was not successful. " Friend Fritz," which 
followed, was an artistic production, but it 
failed to be profitable. The Gilbert and 
Sullivan operas were tried, but they, too, 
failed to win patronage. So matters drifted 
from bad to worse, until finally Mason was 
lost to public view. 

When "The Christian" was brought out 
in the fall of 1898, Mr. Mason immediately 



John B. Mason. 1 1 7 

attracted attention by his impersonation of 
Horatio Drake, the wealthy young man 
of the world who wanted to marry Glory 
Quayle. The character was by no means 
a showy one, — quite the contrary, in fact, 
— and it was far from being a "fat" part, 
like John Storm. Drake was always getting 
just a little the worst of it, either from Storm 
or from Lord Robert Ure, and, in the end, 
he also lost the girl, whom, by all laws of 
reason and logic, he should have married. 
All that was left him was the thankless 
position of extending his blessing to a couple 
who, he must have known, were ridiculously 
mismated. Under the circumstances, Mr. 
Mason's personal success was surprising. 
He made himself felt in a character that 
commonly would have faded into the back- 
ground and have been forgotten. In a 
thoroughly artistic fashion, by quiet inten- 
sity and persuasive sincerity, rather than by 
any extraordinary display of dramatic force, 



1 1 8 Famous Actors. 

which, in a negative character like Horatio 
Drake, would have been out of place, Mr. 
Mason made apparent Drake's individuality 
and created a distinct impression. 




NAT C. GOODWIN 
As David Garrick. 



CHAPTER IX. 

NAT C. GOODWIN. 

Although Nat C. Goodwin has been one 
of the leading figures on the American stage 
almost from the time that he made his pro- 
fessional debut at the Howard Athenaeum in 
Boston on March 5, 1874, as the newsboy 
in a farce by Joseph Bradford, called " Law 
in New York," in which Stuart Robson was 
launched as a star, he is still regarded by 
the public as something experimental and 
unclassified. Mr. Goodwin is generally ac- 
knowledged to be, more than any other of 
the younger actors, our representative come- 
dian ; but the hitch comes when one tries 
to tell just what kind of a comedian he is. 
The difficulty can be traced to two distinct 
119 



1 20 Famous Actors. 

causes, — the first, that Mr. Goodwin won 
his early reputation as a burlesquer ; the 
second, that he refuses to remain in the light 
comedy field, where his natural gifts and his 
theatrical training both persist in keeping 
him. Mr. Goodwin hankers for pathos as 
a thirsty man hankers for water, and to all 
apparent purposes this born light comedian 
cannot be happy except amid tears wrung 
from the eyes of spectators that protest 
while they weep. 

It has been customary to praise — without 
thought, I think — Mr. Goodwin's desire to 
become an emotional actor. But is it kind- 
ness to counsel him to forsake that line of 
artistic endeavour in which he is — with the 
exception of Charles Wyndham — without 
a peer on the English-speaking stage ? I 
do not doubt that Mr. Goodwin has the 
ability to win general recognition in emo- 
tional roles, but will he ever attain preem- 
inence in them ? Mr. Goodwin is mistaken 



Nat C. Goodwin. 121 

if he considers light comedy acting a mean 
variety of art. It requires too much per- 
sonality, too much deftness and subtlety, 
too much snap and go, too much genuine 
humour, to be thought a common and vain 
thing. Moreover, the notion that light 
comedy is of necessity purely artificial, that 
there can be no depth, no humanity, no 
chance for the display of pathetic powers in 
it, is surely wrong. The dividing line between 
humour and pathos is faint indeed, and 
laughter and tears rarely are far separated. 
That quality for which I would have Mr. 
Goodwin strive was well illustrated in the 
character of Silas Woolcott in Brander Mat- 
thews' s and George H. Jessop's "A Gold 
Mine." Who can forget the emotion, so 
beautiful and touching, and the sentiment, 
so true and honest, felt while the actor 
mused over the faded red rose ? One does 
not often experience in the theatre sympathy 
such as Mr. Goodwin's sincerity aroused at 



122 Famous Actors. 

that moment. Yet "A Gold Mine" was 
far from being a perfect medium, for it was 
not free from a touch of caricature that 
belonged properly to farce. 

Clyde Fitch's " Nathan Hale," which Mr. 
Goodwin produced at Hooley's Theatre in 
Chicago on January 31, 1898, met last sea- 
son with a success, due more to the inter- 
esting theme of the drama than to any great 
artistic worth that the play possessed. When 
Mr. Fitch chose Nathan Hale as the hero 
of his play, he displayed sure dramatic 
instinct ; but when he made the play " Na- 
than Hale " he showed an inadequate ap- 
preciation of dramatic art. What he started 
out to write was a romantic comedy with the 
American Revolution as a background, but 
as he proceeded he found history and Na- 
than Hale's self-sacrificing death a fatal 
handicap. How Mr. Fitch could ever have 
conceived the idea of putting into a comedy 
Nathan Hale, who lives in the memories 



Nat C. Goodwin. 123 

of his countrymen as a figure of sublime 
tragedy, is a mystery ; but that he did so 
plan, the first act and the early part of the 
second act plainly testify. As the drama 
developed, the tragedy forced itself to the 
front in spite of the author's efforts to down 
it. The conclusion of Mr. Fitch's drama has 
been called strikingly original. A better de- 
scription would be, illogically inevitable, — 
inevitable because historical events made it 
so, and illogical because the playwright failed 
properly to prepare for it. When the point 
was reached where the spectator under or- 
dinary circumstances would be ready for the 
" happy ending," "Nathan Hale" leaped into 
tragedy so far removed from the spirit of the 
preceding acts that the author dared only to 
sketch in pantomime the two final scenes, re- 
lying on competent actors to convey, and a 
sympathetic audience to comprehend, senti- 
ments that he realised would seem ridiculous 
should he try to express them in words. By 



124 Famous Actors. 

getting into such a predicament Mr. Fitch 
showed himself a poor artist ; by his method 
of extricating himself he showed that he 
was a skilful artisan. However, if " Nathan 
Hale " could not in any sense be termed a 
valuable work of art, the subject certainly 
claimed for the play serious consideration. 
Moreover, Mr. Fitch's treatment of the sub- 
ject was conscientious and dignified ; his 
character-drawing was exceptionally good ; 
his lines were at all times excellent, and he 
never permitted extravagances of speech or 
action. It was emphatically a failure well 
worth making, as well as one that finan- 
cially paid well. 

Nathan Hale was the most serious role 
that Mr. Goodwin ever undertook, and it 
was a role that required most of all absolute 
sincerity. Nathan Hale, after the catastro- 
phe began toward the end of the second act, 
really had little to do with the action of the 
play ; he was never aggressive, and he did 



Nat C. Goodwin. 125 

not struggle against fate. This passive atti- 
tude, which was lacking in impressiveness 
though not in pathos, was made possible 
because of the audience's sympathy with 
Nathan Hale as a historic rather than as 
a histrionic character. This was a curious 
condition of affairs, which I do not think 
often has been paralleled. In the farcical 
schoolroom scene of the first act Mr. Good- 
win was, of course, thoroughly at home, but 
he made his best impression in the second 
act, which opened with a continuance of the 
farcical spirit of the first act, developed into 
a capital comedy scene between Nathan Hale 
and his sweetheart, and ended with two dra- 
matically strong episodes, the volunteering of 
Nathan for spy service, and the parting with 
his betrothed after her vain attempts to dis- 
suade him from entering upon his dangerous 
project. Mr. Goodwin's quiet intensity, when 
he announced at the council of officers that 
he would undertake for his country the de- 



126 Famous Acto7's. 

spised mission of a spy, was very fine indeed, 
and his lofty firmness and manly gentleness 
during the trying interview with the frantic 
girl whom he loved so dearly lent unusual 
force to the pathetic import of the scene. 

Mr. Goodwin's work did not change to any 
appreciable extent my opinion of his unfitness 
to act parts approaching tragedy, but it did 
give me a high opinion of his artistic sense 
and his thorough technique. Because of 
these two latter qualities, no one knew how 
near the ludicrous the last act of " Nathan 
Hale " came. That long stage wait, when 
one watched the light effects of the sunrise 
in the orchard, and listened to that obstrep- 
erous bird whose shrill pipings and whis- 
tlings I can hear even now, brought about 
a state of extreme nervous tension among 
the spectators that made the following death- 
scene a dangerous experiment. It needed 
only the slightest touch of insincerity on 
the part of the leading actor to make the 



Nat C. Goodwin. 127 

play end disastrously. But the play did not 
end disastrously, and on that account Mr. 
Goodwin cannot be too highly praised. He 
was in a position where his every impulse 
must have been to do something. Yet his 
artistic salvation lay in the skill with which 
he did nothing, and, fortunately for him 
and for Mr. Fitch's play, his repression was 
complete. 

Nathaniel Carr Goodwin, Jr., was born in 
Boston, on Temple Street, almost beneath 
the famous gilded dome of the State-house, 
on July 25, 1857. His youthful days were 
spent at the Mayhew Grammar School, in 
Boston, and at the Little Blue Academy in 
Farmington, Maine. When he finished his 
schooling, he returned to Boston and went 
to work in the counting-room of Wellington 
Brothers & Company, a dry goods firm which 
had a store on Chauncy Street. While in 
school young Goodwin had shown a great 
fondness for theatricals, and after he went 



128 Famous Actors. 

into business his spare time was given to 
reading plays and acting as supernumerary 
at the Boston Museum whenever he could 
get a chance. It is said that as a boy he 
stuttered badly, but if so, he early mastered 
the defect in his speech. His first appear- 
ance in Boston was made in the old Paine 
Memorial Hall, when, in company with a 
young man named Slade, he gave an enter- 
tainment, which included his famous imita- 
tions of prominent actors. Stuart Robson 
heard of the success of these imitations, and 
this accident led to Goodwin's first engage- 
ment as an actor. Previous to this, however, 
Goodwin had studied with Madame Mitchell, 
Mrs. Terrell in private life, an actress for- 
merly well known in New York, and with 
Wyzeman Marshall, a prominent old-time 
actor. 

It was in the spring of 1874 that Stuart 
Robson, then a member of the Globe Theatre 
stock company of Boston, was engaged by 



Nat C. Goodwin. 129 

John Stetson, manager of the Boston How- 
ard Athenaeum, to star in " Law in New 
York." The role that Robson played 
was that of a jolly policeman named John 
Beat. Robson suggested that Goodwin be 
engaged to play the small part of the newsboy 
and incidentally to introduce his imitations. 
There immediately arose a dispute over the 
salary of the novice. Robson thought that 
$10 a week would be about right for the 
youngster, but economical John Stetson de- 
clared that half that sum would be enough 
for a beginner. So Nat Goodwin became an 
actor at the modest salary of $5 a week. 
The first night Goodwin carried off the 
honours. His imitations were a novelty at 
that time. The audience was delighted with 
them, and kept the newsboy on the stage 
for half an hour. 

This success brought an engagement at 
Niblo's Garden, New York, after which 
Goodwin appeared in two variety sketches, 



130 Famous Actors. 

" Stage Struck," and " Home from School," 
both of which he played at the Howard 
Athenaeum. His next venture was with 
Tony Pastor in New York, where he rap- 
idly gained a position of first importance on 
the variety stage. His success with Tony 
Pastor led to his engagement, late in 1875, 
to play Captain Crosstree in the burlesque 
of " Black- Eyed Susan " at the Fourteenth 
Street Theatre, New York. This was fol- 
lowed by an engagement at the Walnut 
Street Theatre, Philadelphia, where, in con- 
junction with John Brougham, he assumed his 
first comedy part, Tom Tape in " Sketches 
in India." The role of Stephen Poppincourt 
in "The Little Rebel" followed. Minnie 
Palmer was in the cast of the latter play, 
and later in the season she and Goodwin 
appeared together in Boston in the old 
sketch, " Stage Struck." 

When the famous burlesque, u Evangel- 
ine," was acted at the Boston Museum on 






Nat C. Goodwin. 131 

July 10, 1876, Goodwin was the Captain 
Dietrich in a cast that included William H. 
Crane as Le Blanc, and Harry E. Dixey and 
Richard Golden as the fore and hind legs 
of the frolicsome heifer. The Gabriel was 
the beautiful Eliza Weathersby, who first 
became known as one of Lydia Thompson's 
English burlesquers, and whom Goodwin 
married on June 24, 1877. She died in 
New York on March 23, 1887. Goodwin 
remained with "Evangeline" until 1878, the 
latter part of the time playing Le Blanc, and 
then with his wife formed the Eliza Weath- 
ersby Froliques, and produced " Hobbies," 
a burlesque or extravaganza by B. E. Woolf, 
which gave Mr. Goodwin an opportunity to 
ring in his imitations. "Hobbies" was a 
great popular success, and lasted until Mr. 
Goodwin again joined the Edward E. Rice 
forces and appeared at the Boston Museum 
on July 4, 188 1, in "Cinderella at School." 
This was not successful, and to finish out 



132 Famous Actors. 

the season Goodwin appeared in a round of 
light opera characters, including the Pirate 
Chief in "The Corsair." 

This practically ended the burlesque 
period of Mr. Goodwin's career, for, with 
the production of "The Member for Slo- 
cum," in the fall of 188 1, in which he acted 
Onesimus Epps, he became identified with 
farce, a relation which continued — with the 
exception of the season of 1882-83, when, 
in a company that included his wife and 
Edwin Thorne, he appeared as Sim Lazarus 
in Henry Pettit's melodrama, "The Black 
Flag," and the season of 1884-85, when he 
returned to burlesque, presenting " Hobbies " 
and " Those Bells" a take-off on Henry 
Irving in "The Bells," — until "A Gold 
Mine" was brought out in 1889. Mr. 
Goodwin's plays during the intervening 
years were "The Skating Rink," "Little 
Jack Shepard," in which Loie Fuller, the 
serpentine dancer, had a small part, " Turned 



Nat C. Goodwin. 133 

Up," and "Confusion." Three incidental 
events of considerable importance should 
also be noted. In May, 1883, at the Cin- 
cinnati Dramatic Festival, Mr. Goodwin 
made his first appearance in a Shakespear- 
ian character, that of the First Grave-digger 
in " Hamlet." During the Festival he also 
played Modus in "The Hunchback." His 
second venture into Shakespeare was made 
at Tony Hart's benefit in New York on 
March 22, 1888, when he acted, with con- 
siderable success, too, Marc Antony in 
"Julius Caesar." The third event, which 
showed his growing inclination toward seri- 
ous roles, was the production in 1888 of a 
little drama, a version of De Banville's 
" Gringoire," which he called " A Royal 
Revenge." This was almost a tragedy, and 
Mr. Goodwin did not succeed in making it 
go with the public. 

The summer of 1890 was spent in Eng- 
land, where Mr. Goodwin was well received 



134 Famous Actors. 

in "A Gold Mine" and "The Bookmaker/' 
in which he portrayed a cockney character. 
On his return to this country he produced 
"The Nominee," a farce, and the cur- 
tain-raiser, "The Viper on the Hearth." 
These were followed by " Col. Tom," which 
proved a failure, "Art and Nature," "A 
Gilded Fool," Augustus Thomas's " In Miz- 
zoura," in which, as Jim Radburn, Mr. 
Goodwin did some splendid work, "David 
Garrick," "Lend Me Five Shillings," and 
"Ambition." The season of 1895-96 Mr. 
Goodwin spent in Australia, where he made 
"The Rivals" the feature of his repertory. 
His latest productions in this country have 
been "An American Citizen," " Nathan 
Hale," and "The Cowboy and the Lady," 
by Clyde Fitch, which Mr. Goodwin brought 
out in Philadelphia on March 13, 1899. 

Last summer he again visited England, 
presenting "The Cowboy and the Lady," 
which was coolly received, and " An Ameri- 



Nat C. Goodwin. 135 

can Citizen," which proved a far greater 
success. 

On October 17, 1888, Mr. Goodwin mar- 
ried Mrs. Nella Baker Pease, who was granted 
a divorce in 1898. Shortly after Mr. Good- 
win married Maxine Elliott, who had been 
his leading lady for several seasons, and who 
last season was practically a co-star with 
him. 



CHAPTER X. 

JAMES O'NEILL. 

It is a cause for general congratulation 
that James O'Neill, without doubt one of the 
finest romantic actors in the United States, 
has finally succeeded in breaking away from 
" Monte Cristo," in which he appeared almost 
continuously for sixteen years. Mr. O'Neill 
tried for eight years to drop the character of 
Edmond Dantes from his repertory, but he 
seemed to be unable to secure plays in which 
the public would accept him. It was largely 
his own fault that he became so thoroughly 
identified with Dumas'shero, though the mis- 
take he made of playing only one character 
for so many seasons was under the circum- 
stances a very natural one. Charles R. 
136 




JAMES O'NEILL 
As D'Artagnan in " The Musketeers.' 






James O'Neill. 137 

Thorne, Jr., was originally engaged by John 
Stetson to act the part in the revival of the 
drama at Booth's Theatre, New York, early 
in 1883, and he appeared as Dantes the first 
night. But the next day, or the day follow- 
ing that, Mr. Thorne died, and Mr. O'Neill 
was called upon to take the role. He con- 
tinued to appear in " Monte Cristo " under 
Mr. Stetson's management for two or three 
seasons, and then he bought the production 
and toured the country as Edmond Dantes 
until 1 89 1. By that time the part had be- 
come positively obnoxious to the actor, and, 
although it still continued to be a money 
maker, he was anxious to shelve it. He 
produced a gloomy melodrama, "The Dead 
Heart," which was brought out by Henry 
Irving in London, but the public would have 
none of it. Then he tried a modern play, " The 
Envoy," but that was equally unsuccess- 
ful. " Fontenelle," by Harrison Grey Fiske, 
brought him a little relief, and in 1894 he 



138 Famous Actors. 

acted " Virginius," " Hamlet," and " Riche- 
lieu," in San Francisco, with gratifying suc- 
cess. " Monte Cristo," however, continued 
in demand, and he did not rid himself en- 
tirely of the burden until Liebler & Com- 
pany secured his services to play D'Artagnan 
in Sidney Grundy's "The Musketeers," 
which was produced in Montreal last March. 
His success in this has apparently ended the 
career of Edmond Dantes as the chief feature 
of his repertory. 

The version of " Monte Cristo " that Mr. 
O'Neill used was the same one in which 
Charles Fechter used to appear. The lead- 
ing role was exceedingly difficult, and re- 
quired versatility of the widest range and 
extraordinary physical resources. " I had to 
re-create the character every time I appeared 
in it," Mr. O'Neill once said. "If I could 
not feel the part anew each time I acted it, I 
could not do myself justice. Perhaps you 
can imagine the tremendous mental effort 



James O'Neill. 139 

that was required after I had acted the char- 
acter so long that I came to hate the very 
thought of it." 

James O'Neill was born in Kilkenny, Ire- 
land, on November 15, 1849, an ^ came to 
this country when he was five years old. He 
went to school in Buffalo and afterward in 
Cincinnati. It was his parents' desire that 
he should enter the church, but a clerical 
profession did not appeal to him, and when 
he finished schooling he went to work for a 
clothing firm in Cincinnati. A business life 
did not prove satisfactory, so he resolved to 
follow his own inclinations and become an 
actor. He made his debut in the old Na- 
tional Theatre in Cincinnati, in support of 
Edwin Forrest. " I supported him by carry- 
ing a spear," Mr. O'Neill remarked. The 
first line that he spoke in public was in the 
modest capacity of a wedding guest. After 
a few months with the Cincinnati company 
he joined a small barnstorming company, 



140 Famous Actors. 

which shortly came to grief in Quincy, Il- 
linois, after the actors' trunks had fallen a 
prey to exacting landlords. 

" I certainly thought that I should have to 
walk home," said Mr. O'Neill. " The man- 
ager left for Monmouth, Illinois, promising to 
send me the wherewithal to pay my board 
bill. Meanwhile I made the acquaintance of 
a prominent politician, and, being too proud 
to write home, I borrowed enough money 
from him to pay my landlady and purchase 
a railroad ticket to Monmouth. While in 
Monmouth a wealthy old gentleman, the head 
of a prosperous law firm, took a great fancy 
to me. He invited me to his home to dinner, 
and offered to adopt me if I would agree to 
give up the stage and study law in his office. 
He had no children of his own, and said if I 
proved worthy he wished me to take his name 
and become his heir. Well, you can imagine 
that the proposition nearly knocked me off 
my feet. However, he added that he wanted 



James O ' Neil I. 1 4 1 

me to take twenty-four hours in which to 
think it over. The upshot was that my love 
of acting was so great that I declined the 
proposition. The old gentleman said that 
he did not blame me for wishing to continue 
in my chosen career. He paid my fare to 
Cincinnati, and gave me enough money beside 
to put me on my feet again. He died shortly 
afterward, but I had the pleasure of returning 
the money before his death." 

Mr. O'Neill's next engagement was as 
"walking gentleman" at the St. Louis 
Varieties, and the following season he 
came under Robert Miles's management in 
Cincinnati, where he remained until 1869. 
He then became leading juvenile at the 
Holliday Street Theatre, Baltimore, of 
which John T. Ford was manager. He 
was leading man at the Academy of Music, 
Cleveland, when John Ellsler was manager, 
and while there supported Edwin Forrest 
during his last engagement in that city, 



142 Famous Actors. 

and he also played Macbeth to Charlotte 
Cushman's Lady Macbeth. 

Speaking of his experience in the Mc- 
Vicker's Theatre company, Chicago, where he 
played for two years, beginning in 1871, mak- 
ing his first success as Bob Sackett in Bronson 
Howard's comedy, " Saratoga," Mr. O'Neill 
said : " My relations with Charlotte Cush- 
man at McVicker's were most pleasant. In 
her support I played the parts of Macbeth, 
Cardinal Wolsey, and Dandie Dinmont. She 
was very kind to me, especially in instruct- 
ing me in the part of Macbeth, and she 
took especial pains to teach me all the 
1 business ' of the famous Macready, who, 
she said, was the greatest Macbeth she had 
ever played with. She took the trouble to 
watch me in the various scenes, and when 
her engagement closed she requested my 
services as far as Buffalo, a privilege which 
was granted. The last time I saw this tal- 
ented woman was at the close of the Buffalo 



James O ' NeilL 143 

engagement, when I bade her good-bye with 
the expression of a hope that we might 
sometime again play together. She put her 
hand to her heart with the old familiar ges- 
ture, and said, ' I'm afraid not ; but you con- 
tinue to work, work, work, and you'll be all 
right.' These were the last words to me of 
as good and great an actress as the stage 
has ever seen. 

"Then came a season with Edwin Booth. 
We played ten weeks, during which time I 
alternated with him in the parts of Othello 
and Iago, and Brutus, Cassius, and Anthony 
in 'Julius Caesar.' Speaking of ' Othello,' 
one of the most trying moments of my life 
was when, after the public had seen the 
elder Salvini and Booth play the piece, I 
was suddenly called upon to play Othello 
to Booth's Iago. I went on in the part 
with fear and trembling. The house was 
crowded. In the great scene of the third 
act I did not copy Booth nor Salvini, but 



144 Famous Actors. 

introduced original ' business,' and the large 
audience gave me three distinct rounds of 
applause. When the curtain fell the stage 
manager grasped my hand and said, ' I have 
been on the stage many years, and that is 
the most prolonged round of applause I have 
ever heard.' At the end of the play, as I 
was leaving for my dressing-room, Mr. Booth 
called, ' Hold on, O'Neill, there's a call,' 
and he led me before the curtain, saying, 
'O'Neill, good, — very, very good.' I shall 
never forget these words, coming from Mr. 
Booth to a youngster, as I was at that time. 
Following this engagement came one of the 
pleasantest of my life. After playing Romeo 
with that queen of actresses, Adelaide Neil- 
son, I received a letter from a mutual friend 
in San Francisco, who, in an interview with 
Miss Neilson, asked whom she considered 
the best Romeo. Her answer was : ' Of all 
of the Romeos I have ever played with, a 
little Irishman named O'Neill, leading man 



James O'Neill. 145 

in Chicago, was the best.' Those were 
pleasant days indeed." 

Leaving Mr. McVicker, Mr. O'Neill be- 
came a member of R. M. Hooley's stock 
company, of which William H. Crane was 
the comedian, and Grace Hawthorne leading 
lady. When Mr. Hooley went to San Fran- 
cisco he took Mr. O'Neill with him for a 
three months' engagement, which was ex- 
tended to a year. In 1875 ne was engaged 
for A. M. Palmer's Union Square Theatre 
Company in New York, where for two sea- 
sons he shared the leads with Charles 
Thorne, Jr., playing the cripple Pierre in 
"The Two Orphans," the prince in "The 
Danicheffs," and Jean Renard in "A Cele- 
brated Case." Mr. O'Neill then returned to 
San Francisco, and was for three years con- 
nected with E. J. Baldwin's theatre. 

" ' The Passion Play,' by Salmi Morse, was 
produced during the third year of my stay 
in San Francisco," said Mr. O'Neill. "Man- 



146 Famous Actors. 

ager Maguire asked me to take the part of 
Christ. At first I refused, although, accord- 
ing to the terms of my contract, I had no 
choice but to play any part for which I was 
cast by the management. When I learned, 
however, that Salmi Morse's play had been 
approved by Bishop Allemani of the Catholic 
Church in California, I consented to person- 
ate the character. To me it was not acting, 
it was devotion, and I tried to speak the 
lines with all due reverence for their sacred 
origin. After the piece was taken off in 
San Francisco, it was decided to transfer 
the production to New York. As you 
know, the press and pulpit of New York 
thundered against the performance of 'The 
Passion Play,' in which I was to have 
appeared at Booth's Theatre. Finally the 
management yielded to popular sentiment 
and abandoned the production." 

"What is your personal opinion of 'The 
Passion Play ? ' " Mr. O'Neill was asked. 



James ' Neill. 147 

" My personal opinion is that the perform- 
ance of ' The Passion Play ' was in the nature 
of a religious service. Many of those who 
attended ' The Passion Play ' in San Fran- 
cisco declared that there was nothing irrev- 
erent or theatrical about the performance, 
but that its intense solemnity throughout 
was most impressive. Young persons who 
had never received religious instruction thus 
obtained in the three hours spent in the 
theatre a vivid and lasting knowledge of 
the life of Christ. To my mind there was 
nothing sacrilegious in 'The Passion Play.' 
If anything, it was in the line of Biblical 
education." 

William Seymour, speaking of the first 
production of " The Passion Play " at the 
California, said that, when he came unexpect- 
edly upon Mr. O'Neill in his make-up, he was 
startled by the remarkable resemblance to 
the pictures of the Christ. He was literally 
overawed, and a joke which he was about to 



148 Famous Actors. 

make died on his lips. Even the stage 
hands were quite as much awed as was Mr. 
Seymour. It was the most impressive sight 
ever witnessed behind the scenes, and could 
not have been much less so to the audience, 
for men were seen actually to kneel during the 
performance, so overcome were they by the 
beautiful realism of the scene. Mr. O'Neill 
was arrested after the performance, and was 
fined $50. 

In 1882 Mr. O'Neill filled an engagement 
in a play called " Deacon Crankett," and then, 
just before his appearance in " Monte Cristo," 
made an unsuccessful venture as a star in 
" An American King," by Charles Dazey. 
In 1894 he made an elaborate production in 
Boston of Eugene Fellner's drama, " Don 
Carlos de Seville," which, however, proved a 
failure. 





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4** 





WILLIAM H. CRANE 

As Falstaff. 



CHAPTER XL 

WILLIAM H. CRANE. 

After many years of hard work in the 
routine of his profession, William H. Crane 
has for a decade past been one of the most 
popular entertainers in the United States. 
He is a character comedian, whose one char- 
acter is himself. His is a whole-souled, frank, 
and genial personality, a personality that sug- 
gests shrewdness and generosity, keen good 
sense, and tender-hearted chivalry. In a 
word, he realises to a degree the American 
ideal of what a man should be. This ideal 
Mr. Crane embodied to perfection in his 
greatest character, Senator Hannibal Rivers 
in "The Senator." Hannibal Rivers can no 
more be thought of apart from William H. 
149 



150 Famous Actors. 

Crane than Rip Van Winkle can be con- 
ceived apart from Joseph Jefferson. No 
actor except Crane — and many have made 
the attempt — has ever made any lasting 
impression in the role of the bustling poli- 
tician, the best that could be done being 
momentarily to suggest Crane. However, if 
Jefferson and Crane agree in one particular, 
they differ radically in another. While one 
can imagine only the Rip Van Winkle that 
Jefferson created, one does get a distinct 
impression that Rip is an artistic and imag- 
inary creation. This is not the case with 
Crane and Senator Rivers ; the man and the 
character are so blended that one must be- 
lieve that Senator Rivers is nothing more 
nor less than William H. Crane, as William 
H. Crane would be if he were a Senator 
instead of an actor. 

Although Mr. Crane's versatility and his 
talent for impersonation are limited, his 
comedy powers, within the limitations that 



William H. Crane. 1 5 1 

nature has fixed for him, are exceptionally 
authoritative. His humour, especially, is 
broad, unctuous, and perfectly understand- 
able. He laughs, and the world laughs with 
him, and there is neither bite nor sting to 
the fun that he invokes. His command of 
pathos is not so sure, and he is not always 
successful in scenes that require sustained 
emotion. If, however, the pathos be but 
passing, and the sentiment suggested a 
shadow rather than a reality, Mr. Crane 
often moves his audiences surprisingly. This 
was notably true in "The Senator," the 
action of which, sometimes during its most 
farcical moments, would occasionally reveal 
a flash of sober truth that rarely failed to 
produce a discernible effect on the spectator. 
William H. Crane was born in Leicester, 
Massachusetts, on April 30, 1845. His fa- 
ther moved to Boston soon after, however, 
and became a well-known business man in the 
South End. Mr. Crane, therefore, has always 



152 Famous Actors. 

considered himself a Boston boy. He was 
graduated from the old Brimmer School when 
he was about fifteen years old, and his the- 
atrical experience began, after a few years 
spent as an amateur entertainer, when he was 
twenty years old, as a member of Mrs. Harriet 
Holman's children's troupe, which toured the 
country giving one-act operas, burlesques, and 
pantomimes. Mr. Crane made his profes- 
sional debut in Mechanics' Hall, Utica, New 
York, on July 13, 1865, as the notary in an 
English version of Donizetti's opera, "The 
Daughter of the Regiment." His salary was 
not large, — I am not sure that he got any- 
thing at all, — but he had a bass voice that 
was much appreciated by his associates. 

" I remember the first time I saw my name 
on the bills," said Mr. Crane, "and the thrill 
of conscious pride with which I surveyed the 
announcement of the forthcoming appearance 
of l the new basso prof undo, Master William,' 
to which A. L. Parkes, then our manager, had 



William H. Crane. 153 

added, ' with a voice singularly grand and ef- 
fective. — New York Herald' I had never 
before been in New York, but I used to stand 
for half an hour in front of the bill-boards 
and look at the name, ' Master William,' and 
wonder if the passers-by knew that I was 
the gifted being of whom the New York 
Herald had said 'with a voice singularly 
grand and effective.' Nothing could equal my 
pride and sense of importance for a time, 
though not long after that the basso profundo 
with the voice assisted the leading baritone in 
delivering handbills of the evening's perform- 
ance in more than one city which was not so 
large then as it is now. 

" There was hard work in the theatre dur- 
ing those days. Compare this record of a 
week with that of the modern actor's season. 
It is taken haphazard from my diary when 
playing with the Holmans. Monday — ' The 
Streets of New York,' with myself as Badger, 
and a farce. Tuesday — ' II Trovatore,' in 



154 Famous Actors. 

which I played Count di Luna, and 'The 
Limerick Boy' with myself as Paddy Miles. 
Wednesday — * Rosedale,' I playing Miles 
McKenna, and a farce. Thursday — ' Faust,' 
in which I played ' Mephistopheles, and in 
which Julia Holman, ' by request,' introduced 
into the fair scene the then popular song, 
'Tassels on Her Boots.' Friday — 'Kate 
Kearney,' an Irish drama, and ' La Sonnam- 
bula, ' and Saturday an opera, a farce, and a 
pantomime. 

" I also have a notice of an evening's per- 
formance in Toronto, which began with the 
farce of * The Dead Shot,' continued with a 
performance on the ' musical goblets,' went 
on with the burlesque extravaganza of 'The 
Invisible Prince,' incorporated a solo by my- 
self, which I regret to say was encored, and 
ended with 'The Limerick Boy.' 

"Another bill recounts that on one occa- 
sion, at Pike's Opera House, in Cincinnati, 
I played in one evening Doctor Dulcamara 



William H. Crane. 155 

in * L'Elisir d'Amore ; ' Handy Andy, with 
songs, Irish jigs, and other playful trim- 
mings ; followed it by the then popular 
minstrel song of ' Sally Come Up,' with a 
dance thrown in, and finished by acting the 
clown in the closing pantomime. Not a bad 
evening's work for a rising young comedian, 
was it ? " 

After leaving the Holmans, Mr. Crane 
became connected with the Alice Oates 
Opera Company, with which he remained 
four years. He appeared in " Fra Diavolo," 
"The Flower Girl of Paris," and many other 
light operas. He was also the original Le 
Blanc in the Oates Opera Company's pro- 
duction of " Evangeline," at Niblo's Garden, 
New York, in 1873. In the fall of 1874 
Mr. Crane's comic opera days came to an 
end, and he joined Hooley's Stock Company 
in Chicago, where he was associated with 
James O'Neill, Nellie McHenery, Nate Salis- 
bury, and others. Bartley Campbell was the 



156 Famous Actors. 

dramatist of the company, which, in addition 
to producing Campbell's plays, presented all 
the New York successes. "I remember," 
Mr. Crane remarked, "that I acted five law- 
yers in succession in as many different 
plays." While at Hooley's Mr. Crane ap- 
peared in " Married Life," " The Rough 
Diamond," as Hector Placide in " Led 
Astray," Meddle in " London Assurance," 
Templeton Jitt in "Divorce," Mr. Crux in 
"School," Aminadab Sleek in "The Serious 
Family," and Tom Tack in "Time Tries 
All." Mr. Crane went to San Francisco 
with the Hooley company, and later became 
connected with the California Theatre, of 
which John McCullough was proprietor, 
and Barton Hill, manager. In the com- 
pany were Thomas W. Keene and W. A. 
Mestayer. Mr. Crane's greatest success on 
the Pacific Coast was in "Ultimo," Bartley 
Campbell's adaptation from the German. In 
this play Ella Kraighne, who had but re- 



William H. Crane. 157 

cently made her debut at the California 
Theatre as Sister Genevieve in "The Two 
Orphans," also appeared, and a short time 
after she was married to Mr. Crane. 

The comedian's popularity on the Pacific 
Coast was something to marvel at, and the 
estimation in which he was held found ex- 
pression in January, 1876, just before Mr. 
Crane joined Henry E. Abbey's Park Thea- 
tre Company, in New York, at a benefit given 
in the Metropolitan Theatre in Sacramento, 
which was attended by the Governor and 
State officials and many members of the 
Legislature. Mr. Crane's first appearance 
in New York was as Dick Swiveller to 
Lotta's Little Nell. In January, 1877, he 
made his great hit in Leonard Grover's " Our 
Boarding House," in which he appeared as 
Col. M. T. Elevator. Stuart Robson was 
the Professor Gillipod, and this was the first 
time that the two comedians acted together. 

" Every one knows that Robson and I 



158 Famous Actors. 

first came together in ' Our Boarding 
House,' " said Mr. Crane, " but every one 
doesn't know that we nearly came together 
with a crash. Grover, who, like most Ameri- 
can dramatists of that day, was in a condition 
of impecuniosity, had produced his play with 
some measure of success in San Francisco. 
He came to New York and read it to A. M. 
Palmer, who was then managing the Union 
Square Theatre. Palmer liked it and made 
Grover an advance on the manuscript, — the 
advance giving the right to control the piece 
for a certain time. 

" Palmer was not in a hurry to do the 
play, and one day T. H. French, the pub- 
lisher, walked into Palmer's office and saw 
the manuscript lying on the table. ' Hallo ! ' 
said he, 'what do you think of my play?' 
'Your play!' returned Palmer; 'it's my 
play. I made Grover an advance on it, and 
here's his acknowledgment.' 'And I made 
Grover an advance on my copy,' said French, 



William H. Crane. 159 

' and his receipt is at my office, and I think it 
antedates yours.' Well, that was a nice state 
of affairs. There was no knowing how many 
more managers might turn up with interests 
in the much-owned play ; so Palmer and 
French decided to pool their issues and 
produce the farce as soon as possible. 
French had already entered into negotia- 
tions with Abbey, who then had the Park 
Theatre, and the three decided to do the 
piece in joint account. 

"At that time I was in Boston, playing 
Le Blanc in ' Evangeline.' Abbey engaged 
me to play Professor Gillipod. I was in a 
high feather. But, as luck would have it, 
Robson, who had long been with Palmer, 
and had only left him to go starring, re- 
turned to New York. Palmer didn't know 
of Abbey's having engaged me, and he gave 
Robson the same part. The first thing I 
heard about it was a telegram from Abbey, 
which read something like this : * Think part 



160 Famous Actors. 

of Elevator will suit you better. Will give 
you $15 weekly more. Answer.' Now I 
had read that Elevator had been played by 
old men, and I didn't want to act an old 
man. I wired back a refusal. Then came 
another despatch : ' Impossible for you to 
play Gillipod. Will give you $25 for Ele- 
vator.' 

" I went to a lawyer, and he told me that 
I could demand Gillipod, and if it wasn't 
given me, all I need do was draw my salary 
for as long as the play ran in New York. 
But this didn't suit me. I wanted to act. 
So I made an arrangement with Abbey to 
receive Elevator, with the understanding 
that, if I didn't like it, I should give it up 
without prejudice to my claim. As I con- 
sidered Gillipod the part of the piece, you 
can imagine I didn't look at Robson with 
any friendly eye. After a time I saw that 
I could make something out of Elevator, and 
so I informed Abbey. But my scenes with 



William H. Crane. 161 

Robson didn't go. We didn't work together. 
It was the last rehearsal but one when I 
determined to end it. So I went to him and 
said, ' Robson, do you know that I was en- 
gaged for your part ? ' ' Well,' he said, ' I 
have heard so, but, as you never said any- 
thing to me about it, I supposed you were 
satisfied.' 'I'm not,' I replied. 'If you had 
come to me sooner,' said Robson, ' I would 
have given up the part, but I can't in justice 
to the managers do that now.' I believed 
him then, and from what I have known of 
him since, I am sure that he meant it. So 
we shook hands, and set to work to do what 
we could with our scenes, and the piece 
made a hit. 

" As the play originally was written, I had 
scarcely anything to do in the last act, so I 
suggested to Grover a little burlesque love 
scene. He consented and wrote me perhaps 
ten lines. That, however, was all I wanted. 
It was a chance to get on, and once on, I 



1 62 Famotis Actors. 

wasn't coming off till I got ready. I went 
to Miss Harrison, who was playing Beatrice, 
and told her what I was going to do, and 
asked her to help me out. All she had to 
utter was an occasional exclamation of sur- 
prise. She very willingly agreed, and I ex- 
panded the scene on my own lines until it 
was ten times as long as Grover had written 
it. The result was that it went with screams, 
and I got one of the biggest recalls I have 
ever had. The next morning there was a 
rehearsal. Grover said to me, ' Mr. Crane, I 
shall cut that love scene in the last act.' 
I didn't say any more than 'Very well, sir, 
cut it if you want to,' but I took care to say 
it pretty loud. It reached Abbey's ears. 
' What's that ? ' he cried. < What are you 
going to cut ? ' ' Mr. Grover wants to cut 
my love scene in the last act,' I observed. 
' I'll be blessed if he will/ said Abbey, and 
his blessing ended the matter, and the scene 
remained as I introduced it." 



William H. Crane. 163 

At the Park Theatre Robson and Crane 
also played in Dion Boucicault's " Forbidden 
Fruit," and then the two began their career 
as joint stars, first achieving remarkable suc- 
cess in Joseph Bradford's " Our Bachelors." 
In the succeeding years they brought out 
" Sharps and Flats," "The Comedy of Er- 
rors," in which Mr. Crane played one of the 
Dromios, and " The Merry Wives of Wind- 
sor," in which he acted Falstaff. In the fall 
of 1887, at the Union Square Theatre in 
New York, Bronson Howard's " The Henri- 
etta " was produced, with Mr. Crane as Nich- 
olas Vanalstyne, a character that he made 
peculiarly his own. "The Henrietta" was 
the greatest hit Robson and Crane had ever 
known, and the play lasted them until 1 889, 
when the two decided to end their partner- 
ship. 

Mr. Crane's productions since that time 
are well known to the public. He has 
always shown a commendable desire to 



164 Famous Actors. 

patronise home industries, and has been 
an encouraging figure for the native-born 
dramatist to contemplate. His first and 
greatest success as an individual star was 
"The Senator." Then came Jonathan Sils- 
bee in "On Probation," Benjamin Franklin 
Lawton in "The American Minister," John 
Hackett in " Brother John," Buchanan Bill- 
ings in "The Wife's Father," and "The 
Governor of Kentucky," by Franklyn Fyles. 
The latter dramas were only moderately suc- 
cessful, and for a time Mr. Crane struggled 
with several successive failures. He brought 
out one after another, "A Virginia Court- 
ship," by Eugene W. Presbrey, " His Honour 
the Mayor," by Charles Henry Meltzer and 
A. E. Lancaster, and " Worth a Million," 
also by Mr. Presbrey, but none of them fur- 
nished just the material he desired. In New 
York, on December 5, 1898, however, he 
duplicated his old-time successes with " The 
Head of the Family," an adaptation by 



William H. Crane. 165 

Clyde Fitch and Leo Dietrichstein, from 
Adolph L' Arronge's German play, " Hase- 
man's Tochter," which, the New York Sun 
went so far as to say, provided Mr. Crane 
with the best character he had had since 
"The Senator." 



CHAPTER XII. 

WILTON LACKAYE. 

Wilton Lackaye was the creator on the 
stage of the character of Svengali, and a 
remarkably forceful performance he made of 
it. Of course, George DuMaurier's concep- 
tion had in it all the elements necessary to 
make it dramatically powerful. Even in the 
novel, Svengali stood forth with a weirdness 
that was almost startling. His devilishness 
seemed hardly human, and he was as awe-in- 
spiring in his unreality as the goblins and 
gnomes of our childhood. All this was great 
material for the character actor ; all he had to 
do was to take it and mould and fashion it 
into a form that could be presented on the 
stage. Moreover, he found his make-up all 
1 66 




Copyright, 1895, by B. J. Falk, N. Y. 

WILTON LACKAYE 
As Svengali in " Trilby. 



Wilton Lackaye. 167 

prepared for him, a make-up far more nearly 
perfect than any he could have evolved 
working by himself. 

All these things Mr. Lackaye used to the 
best advantage. His personal appearance 
was a remarkable example of the art of mak- 
ing up. He completely transformed himself ; 
his round, full cheeks became haggard and 
cavernous ; his eyes, which are naturally hu- 
morously kindly, were made wild and staring 
and frightfully fascinating. The spectator 
himself almost felt the hypnotic power used 
on poor Trilby. 

There was no doubt that, in the hands of 
an actor proficient in character studies, 
Svengali was a part that to a considerable 
extent won its own way with an audience, a 
"fat" part, the actors would call it. Paul 
Potter made Svengali — the one personage 
in the book whose character was forceful and 
at the same time complex ; the embodiment 
of a mystery that piqued the curiosity ; a mar- 



1 68 Famous Actors. 

vellous musician, yet a man whom one in- 
stinctively classed as a reprobate ; a being of 
light and shadow, full of violent contrasts and 
surprising oddities — the centre of interest in 
his drama, which was perfectly justifiable, even 
though it destroyed the spirit of DuMaurier's 
novel. It is not always recognised that novel- 
writing and play-writing are two distinct arts 
that have almost nothing in common. A 
perfect dramatisation of a novel is impossi- 
ble ; often it is impossible even to tell in all 
its essentials, by means of a drama, the same 
story that is told in the novel. If the so- 
called dramatisation be a good play that can 
stand on its own bottom, the dramatiser has 
done well. It is of absolutely no importance 
whether he has developed exactly the same 
plot as the novel from which he derived his 
inspiration, whether he has introduced the 
same incidents, or whether he has used the 
same characters. The play " Trilby" in no 
way reflected the spirit of the book "Trilby," 



Wilton Lackaye. 169 

and the play " The Little Minister " had only 
a superficial and misleading resemblance to 
the novel "The Little Minister." And both 
of these were unusually successful dramatisa- 
tions. 

Svengali gave Mr. Lackaye a wider repu- 
tation than he had previously attained, al- 
though he was well known as a character 
actor and portrayer of villains before he 
acted the arch-hypnotist in Boston in March, 
1895. His first substantial success was as 
Gouroc in " Paul Kauvar." During the sum- 
mer of 1888 he played Demetrius in "A 
Midsummer Night's Dream " at McVicker's 
Theatre, Chicago. That fall he appeared 
with Rose Coghlan in "Jocelyn," acting 
Saviani so well that it was not thought advis- 
able to keep him in the company for any 
length of time. 

Mr. Lackaye' s theatrical career began, 
however, as a member of Lawrence Barrett's 
company. He was born in Loudoun County, 



170 Famous Actors. 

Virginia, and was educated for the priest- 
hood. He spent two years at college in 
Ottawa and four years at Georgetown Uni- 
versity. Then he received the nomination 
for the propaganda at Rome. 

"My father," said Mr. Lackaye, " came on 
to New York with me to see me off for 
Havre. The steamer wasn't to sail for sev- 
eral days, so I had an opportunity to see 
' Esmeralda ' at the Madison Square Theatre. 
That proved my downfall. After the per- 
formance I informed my father that, instead 
of becoming a priest, I intended to go on the 
stage. You can imagine his consternation. 
He suggested that a padded cell was more in 
the line for a chap that could change his 
mind in regard to a vocation in ten minutes' 
time. The upshot was that he took me back 
to Washington, where I began to study law." 

In Washington Mr. Lackaye became presi- 
dent of an amateur dramatic society known 
as the Lawrence Barrett Dramatic Associa- 



Wilton Lackaye. 171 

ciation, and by tactful use of his judicial 
position he succeeded in getting an introduc- 
tion to Mr. Barrett, and after that a place 
in his company. His first part was one of 
Paolo's friends in the production of "Fran- 
cesca da Rimini " at the Star Theatre, New 
York, in 1883, and the best character he had 
with Mr. Barrett was Salarino in "The Mer- 
chant of Venice." Then he acted for a time 
with a stock company in Dayton, Ohio, and 
after that with the Carrie Swain company. 
Subsequently he appeared in " Mayblossom." 
The season of 1886-87 was spent with 
Fanny Davenport, with whom he played 
Claudio in "Much Ado About Nothing," 
and also acted in " Fedora " and " As You 
Like It." Early in the summer of 1887 Mr. 
Lackaye attracted some attention in New 
York as Robert Le Diable in "Allan Dare," 
and still more the following fall by his play- 
ing of Leo in William Gillette's version of 
" She," produced at Niblo's. Then followed 



1 72 Famous Actors. 

his successes in " Paul Kauvar " and with 
Rose Coghlan. In the spring of 1889 came 
his amusing portrayal of the Portuguese, 
Don Stephano, in " Featherbrain," with 
Minnie Maddern. Haverhill in " Shenan- 
doah " and Gilchrist in " Bootle's Baby" 
followed, and then he came under Augustin 
Daly's management, playing first De Noir- 
ville in " Roger La Houte," with William 
Terriss and Jessie Millward, and O'Donnel 
Don in "The Great Unknown" at Daly's 
Theatre. After a week in this play Mr. 
Daly cast him for Oliver in " As You Like 
It," but Mr. Lackaye refused to accept the 
part and resigned from the company. 

During the following half-dozen seasons Mr. 
Lackaye took part in many new productions, 
appearing as Sir Barton in " My Jack," the 
Russian in " Colonel Tom," Latour in " The 
Dead Heart," Jack Adams in " Money Mad," 
Barillas in "The Pembertons," Jim Currie 
in "The Canuck," in the title role of both 



Wilton Lackaye. 173 

"Dr. Bill" and "Nero," Steve Carson in 
"The Power of the Press," King Louis in 
" Pompadour," Perrin in " Mr. Wilkinson's 
Widows," and Jefferson Stockton in "Aris- 
tocracy." 

As a member of A. M. Palmer's stock 
company he acted in " Lady Windermere's 
Fan," "The Dancing Girl," "Saints and Sin- 
ners," "Alabama," "Jim the Penman," "A 
Woman's Revenge," "The American Heir- 
ess," " Price of Silence," " The Transgressor," 
"New Blood," and "The New Woman." 
He played the title role in " The District At- 
torney " at the American Theatre. After that 
came the production of "Trilby" in Boston. 

Mr. Lackaye practically starred as Svengali 
throughout the country under A. M. Palmer's 
management. Then he brought out on his 
own account a play by Charles Klein called 
"Dr. BelgrafT," which had hypnotism as a 
theme. Last season he appeared in " Charles 
O'Malley." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

WILLIAM GILLETTE. 

In considering William Gillette two dis- 
tinct persons have to be taken into account. 
There is Mr. Gillette, the playwright, the 
author of two such fine acting dramas as 
" Held by the Enemy " and " Secret Ser- 
vice," and the adapter of numerous success- 
ful farces, such as "The Private Secretary," 
"Too Much Johnson," and "Because She 
Loved Him So ; " and there is Mr. Gillette, 
the actor, the creator of serious-minded Rev. 
Mr. Spaulding in "The Private Secretary," 
of the cool and mendacious Billings in " Too 
Much Johnson," and of the remarkable char- 
acter of the Union spy in "Secret Service." 
174 




WILLIAM GILLETTE 



In " Secret Service. 



William Gillette. 175 

It is with Mr. Gillette, the actor, that I shall 
have to do in this article. 

The remarkable feature of Mr. Gillette's 
work on the stage is the well-nigh perfect 
realism that he imparts to every character 
which he plays, whether that character be in 
wildest farce or in most thrilling melodrama. 
The Rev. Mr. Spaulding was a farcical char- 
acter in every sense ; his seriousness was 
funny, his bashfulness was funny, and his 
awkwardness was funny. Moreover, the 
situations in which he was placed were 
always ridiculous in the extreme. Yet Mr. 
Spaulding, as played by Mr. Gillette, was 
very much a human being, and, in spite of 
the fact that there was absolutely no appeal 
made, directly or indirectly, to one's sym- 
pathy, one could not help feeling just a little 
sorry for the unfortunate fellow. 

Again, in Billings of "Too Much John- 
son," another farcical role, the same element 
of genuineness was in evidence. In " Secret 



1 76 Famous Actors. 

Service," this realism was, naturally enough, 
very much more impressive, for " Secret Ser- 
vice" was a play of extraordinary dramatic 
intensity. It was a melodrama whose effect- 
iveness depended greatly on the care with 
which it was acted. It did not on the sur- 
face appear machine made, but this was 
because the machinery was operated with 
exceptional subtlety. It was a play that 
developed quickly and logically, and whose 
action carried the spectator along with a 
rush, scarcely giving him time to think. I 
do not believe there was as much dialogue 
in the whole of " Secret Service " as one 
would find in three acts of the average four- 
act drama, but in place of this dialogue there 
was action, vivid, interesting, and straight to 
the point. Take the scene in the telegraph 
office. Minutes passed without a word being 
spoken, yet how closely every move on the 
stage was followed and how the suspense 
worked on one's nerves ! 



William Gillette. iyy 

The success of the play was largely due to 
Mr. Gillette's acting and to his gift for 
forming and maintaining an atmosphere of 
actuality. It was no small feat to establish 
sufficient interest in a spy to make him the 
hero of a play. Particularly difficult was it 
to arouse this sympathy, not by an appeal 
to patriotic sentiment, but by the dramatic 
strength of the character. Yet this was 
what Mr. Gillette did, as was shown by the 
full acceptance of the drama south of the 
Mason and Dixon line and in England. Sim- 
plicity and sincerity, intensity and force, are 
the qualities that have made Mr. Gillette a 
thoroughly convincing actor. 

In spite of his success and facility in both 
farcical and melodramatic characters, Mr. 
Gillette is by no means a versatile actor. 
He is essentially the same in every part in 
which he appears, always cool, collected, and 
unabashed. In farce, by contrast, this sang- 
froid yields a wealth of fun ; in melodrama it 



178 Famous Actors. 

serves to increase immeasurably the power of 
a dramatic situation. Indeed, Mr. Gillette's 
methods of expressing emotion are so much 
his own, so individual, that they may almost 
be called mannerisms. His points he makes 
quietly, a twitching of the fingers, perhaps, 
or a compression of the lips, or a harden- 
ing of the muscles of the face. He rarely 
gesticulates, and his bodily movements often 
seem purposely slow and deliberate. His 
composure is absolute and his mental grasp 
of a situation is complete. In a sense he is 
wonderfully restful ; but he never fails to 
make himself understood, and he is never 
ambiguous. 

William Gillette came from one of the 
anti-slavery families of New England, and he 
was born in Connecticut. He is related to 
Henry Ward Beecher and to Charles Dudley 
Warner. His father, Hon. Francis Gillette, 
was one of Connecticut's representative men, 
the leader of the Free Soil party in that State, 



William Gillette. 179 

prominent as an abolitionist and social re- 
former, and at one time a member of the 
United States Senate and a candidate for 
Governor of the State. Anti-slavery views 
were slow to progress in Connecticut at first, 
but the time came when there was a coalition 
with the Democrats, somewhat similar to that 
which first sent Charles Sumner to the Senate 
from Massachusetts. Under this Francis 
Gillette was chosen Senator from Con- 
necticut to fill out an unexpired term. The 
Whigs usually carried Connecticut at that 
period, but the Democrats occasionally stole 
a march on them, and this time the Free 
Soilers came in for a share of benefit. 

William Gillette once said that his connec- 
tion with the theatre was due to predestina- 
tion and insubordination. At the early age 
of nine or ten years he was astonishing his 
family and neighbours in Hartford with a min- 
iature theatre fitted out with grooves, scenery, 
foot and border lights, the puppets for which 



180 Famous Actors 

were worked from above with black thread. 
A year or two later a better theatre was con- 
structed, showing advanced methods in mise- 
en-scene and wardrobe. The next step in this 
juvenile theatrical experiment was the or- 
ganisation in the Gillette attic — one of the 
old-fashioned roomy sort — of a complete 
high-class stock company. When this had 
been tried " on a dog," as it were, at the top 
of the house, it descended to the drawing- 
room, which became an extemporised temple 
of the drama, to the dubious edification of 
the Gillette household. 

Mr. Gillette's parents shared, with other 
New Englanders, the prejudice against " actor 
folk," and frowned at their son's disposition 
to go on the stage. He finally settled the 
question by running away from home. Mean- 
while he had been graduated from the Hart- 
ford high school and had studied to some 
extent at the University of the City of New 
York and at Boston University. He had 



William Gillette. 181 

given public readings in a number of towns 
and villages in Connecticut and had met with 
some success in imitating famous actors. 

"What might be called my professional 
debut," said Mr. Gillette, " was made in New 
Orleans. It was not especially profitable. 
It came about in this manner : When I ran 
away from home, I drifted to St. Louis, where 
I met Ben DeBar, who, on ascertaining that 
I was willing to act gratuitously and supply 
my own costumes, engaged me as leading 
utility man for his New Orleans stock com- 
pany. Shortly afterward I suggested the 
advisability of paying me a salary, and 
my services were immediately dispensed 
with." 

After this experience Mr. Gillette re- 
turned to his home in Hartford, but in the 
fall of 1875, through the influence of Mark 
Twain, who was a neighbour of his, in Hart- 
ford, he obtained an engagement at the 
Globe Theatre in Boston. On September 



1 82 Famous Actors. 

1 3> 1875, he appeared as Guzman in " Faint 
Heart Never Won Fair Lady." In No- 
vember of that year he supported John T. 
Raymond at the Globe Theatre in "The 
Gilded Age," taking the part of the Counsel 
for the Defence. During the season at the 
Globe he appeared in such parts as Lord 
Kootoo in " King Turko," Longford in " My 
Precious Betsy," Malcolm in "Macbeth," 
Montano in "Othello," Benvolio in "Romeo 
and Juliet," Markham in " Still Waters Run 
Deep," Master Wilford in "The Hunch- 
back," Captain Collins in "Around the 
World in Eighty Days," Mr. Buffler in 
" Married in Haste," Philippe in " La Tour 
de Nesle," Gamier in " Retribution," Ga- 
briel in " Guy Mannering," the Duke of 
Suffolk in " A Crown of Thorns," Lord 
Melton in " The Marble Heart," Rosencranz 
in " Hamlet," Hortensio in " Katherine and 
Petruchio," Archambent in "The Child of 
the Regiment," the Admiral in " Black-Eyed 



William Gillette. 183 

Susan/' and Prince Florian in " Broken 
Hearts." 

The last character was his greatest suc- 
cess, and he undertook it in consequence of 
the sudden illness of Harry Murdock. Mr. 
Gillette received the manuscript of the part 
at noontime, and, without a rehearsal, went 
on the stage at night letter perfect. He 
acquitted himself so well that he retained 
possession of the role during the play's run 
in Boston. 

After leaving the Globe Theatre, Mr. Gil- 
lette was for two seasons with McCauley's 
stock company in Cincinnati and Louisville, 
and subsequently he spent a season with a 
travelling company. Then he turned his 
attention to play-writing. 

" My first attempts never reached the foot- 
lights," said Mr. Gillette. " I was a most 
ambitious and conscientious playwright at 
the outset of my career. So much so that 
I decided to study human nature at its foun- 



184 Famous Actors. 

tain source. I accordingly went to Cleve- 
land and became an apprentice in a machine 
shop in order to study the lingo and charac- 
teristics of the genuine mechanic. At the 
same time I hung out a doctor's shingle at 
Marietta, and put in my spare time as ped- 
dler in another small town. As I tried to 
carry on these three occupations at the same 
time, you can easily see that a conflict of 
interests was bound to follow. After coming 
in contact with all sorts of malades imagi- 
naires in Marietta for about a month, I 
ascertained that it was against the law to 
practise medicine without a diploma. I may 
say in extenuation of my illegal practice that 
I always referred patients that were really 
ill to the local physicians, so that there was 
no harm done through my medical masquer- 
ade. My apprenticeship in the machine shop 
was also of short duration, as the foreman 
told me point-blank one morning that he had 
no use for an apprentice who was absent 



William Gillette. 185 

four days out of six. I entered all sorts of 
places in the guise of a peddler, and had 
occasion to make mental memoranda of all 
sorts and conditions of men, but I relin- 
quished the peddler's vocation when Cleve- 
land wouldn't have me any longer as an 
apprentice, and Marietta made the writing 
of harmless prescriptions a dangerous pas- 
time." 

The first of Mr. Gillette's plays to be 
produced was "The Professor," which was 
brought out at the Madison Square Theatre, 
New York, on June 1, 1881. The author 
appeared in the title role, an absent-minded 
student. The play proved a substantial 
success, and had quite a run at the Madison 
Square and a prosperous tour on the road. 
Mr. Gillette next assisted Mrs. Frances 
Hodgson Burnett in the dramatic construc- 
tion of "Esmeralda," and then acted for a 
season in " Young Mrs. Winthrop." 

"In 1884," Mr. Gillette continued, "I 



1 86 Famous Actors. 

produced at the Comedy Theatre, New York, 
an adaptation of Von Moser's play, < Der 
Bibliothekar,' under the title of ' Digby's 
Secretary,' in which I played the part of the 
Secretary, the Rev. Job McCosh. On the 
same night A. M. Palmer produced < The Pri- 
vate Secretary ' at the Madison Square The- 
atre. This was Hawtrey's adaptation of the 
same German play. Both versions were suc- 
cessful, and a lawsuit was pending between 
Mr. Palmer and myself when we wisely 
agreed upon a compromise. The best parts 
of each adaptation were combined, and I 
appeared for several seasons in the title role 
of ' The Private Secretary ' at the Madison 
Square and elsewhere." 

Mr. Gillette's next venture was " Held by 
the Enemy," which was first produced in 1886 
at the Criterion Theatre in Brooklyn, where 
it did not attract a great deal of attention. 
Later, when brought out at the Madison 
Square Theatre, with Mr. Gillette as Thomas 



William Gillette. 187 

Bean, the war correspondent, it appeared to 
a far better advantage, and it has been run- 
ning off and on in various parts of the 
country ever since. At Niblo's Garden, in 
1887, Mr. Gillette's dramatisation of Rider 
Haggard's "She" was given a spectacular 
production. "All the Comforts of Home" 
and "Wilkinson's Widows " followed, in 1890 
and 1 89 1, and then "Ninety Days" proved 
a failure at the Broadway Theatre in New 
York. " Too Much Johnson " was his next 
adaptation, and this proved profitable. 

Mr. Gillette's struggle for health in the 
pine woods of North Carolina banished him 
from active participation in theatrical affairs 
for a considerable length of time, and during 
the period he wrote his finest play, " Secret 
Service," which was produced at the Broad 
Street Theatre, Philadelphia, on May 15, 
1895, with Maurice Barrymore as the hero. 
In view of the subsequent triumph of 
this drama, the following criticism, which 



1 88 Famous Actors. 

was written after the first performance, is 
amusing : 

"While the play has intensity and many 
ingenious situations, it is inferior to his 
' Held by the Enemy ' in design, elabora- 
tion, and power. Picturesque as Mr. Barry- 
more is as the hero, it is clear that as 
Chalfoner he works against the honest sen- 
timents of his auditors, for spying is an ugly 
business at the best. There is a lack of 
stage-craft in the development of the action, 
and the outside porch, to which Mr. Gil- 
lette's characters continually retreat when 
they get in the way, is one of the most valu- 
able adjuncts of the play. In its present 
condition the play drags very unpleasantly, 
but with repetitions it may be expected that 
the < Secret Service ' will win a position, 
though not a commanding one." 

Mr. Gillette's last work was the farce, 
"Because She Loved Him So," an adapta- 
tion from the French, which was brought 



William Gillette. 189 

out last season. It played long engagements 
in Boston, New York, and Chicago, and 
proved one of the most delightful features 
of the theatrical season. 



;< 



CHAPTER XIV. 

HENRY MILLER. 

Henry Miller was born in London, Eng- 
land. He was taken to Toronto, Canada, 
however, by his parents when he was very 
young, and it was in that city that he grew 
up. It was there, also, that he first became 
imbued with a desire to be an actor, an am- 
bition inspired by reading an article on the 
early struggle and final success of Sir Henry 
Irving. 

"I made up my mind," said Mr. Miller, 
"to emulate him, to work earnestly as he 
had worked, and, if possible, to gain some- 
thing of the success that he had even then 
attained. At fifteen I became the pupil in 
elocution of the late C. W. Couldock, and, 
190 




HENRY MILLER 
In " Liberty Hall." 



} 



Henry Miller. 191 

besides getting at his hands four years of 
excellent training in the Shakespearian 
drama, I had the good fortune to form an 
affectionate friendship with him that endured 
until the time of his death." 

Mr. Miller made his professional debut 
just before his nineteenth birthday, as a 
member of a stock company in Toronto. 
His first part was that of the bleeding ser- 
geant in " Macbeth." The season in Toronto 
was not a very successful one, and as the 
weeks passed by without the customary 
pedestrianism on the part of the ghost, the 
old members of the company sought other 
fields. So it happened that before the end 
of his first season, Mr. Miller found himself 
playing the leading juvenile roles in the 
classic drama. 

In 1878, Mr. Miller became a member of 
Modjeska's company, sharing the general util- 
ity roles with Robert Mantell. With Mo- 
djeska he was billed as J. H. Miller. One of 



192 Famous Actors. 

his best characters was Paris in " Romeo and 
Juliet." Two seasons with Adelaide Neilson 
followed, during which time he acted Peter 
in " Measure for Measure," Paris in "Romeo 
and Juliet," Arviragus in " Cymbeline," and 
Oliver in "As You Like It." He took part 
in Miss Neilson' s farewell performance in 
New York, and then, after a short engage- 
ment with Ada Cavendish, he joined Au- 
gustin Daly's forces, appearing first in 
" Odette," when that play was produced 
at Daly's Theatre on February 6, 1882. 

" I may say that I gained my first foothold 
in New York while at Mr. Daly's theatre," 
Mr. Miller remarked. " I played the leading 
role in * Odette ' at short notice, in place of 
H. M. Pitt, who was suddenly taken ill. In 
the cast on that occasion were Ada Rehan, 
James Lewis, and John Drew." 

From Daly's Mr. Miller went to A. M. 
Palmer's Madison Square Theatre, where he 
made a hit as Herbert in " Young Mrs. Win- 



Henry Miller. 193 

throp." After that he was leading man for 
Minnie Maddern for a time, and then he 
joined with Mrs. Agnes Booth Schoeffel 
and a number of others in a production of 
Arthur W. Pinero's "The Squire," Mr. 
Miller acting Eric Thorndike. Ada Rehan 
and John Drew had already appeared in the 
drama in New York, and the Agnes Booth- 
Henry Miller production, which was made at 
the Park Theatre, Boston, on September 1, 
1884, was the result of a summer association 
on the Massachusetts North Shore of several 
members of the cast. Mrs. Schoeffel played 
Kate Verity so remarkably that those who 
saw her declare that no one since has ever 
equalled her in the character. Mr. Miller 
was also very successful, and when Daniel 
Frohman organised his Lyceum Theatre 
Company, he engaged Mr. Miller as leading 
juvenile. 

With the Lyceum Company he acted 
Robert Gray in "The Wife," Clement Hale 



194 Famous Actors. 

in " Sweet Lavender," and Randolph in the 
version of " Ferreol," which was known at 
the Lyceum as "The Marquise." He re- 
mained with Mr. Frohman until the produc- 
tion of "The Charity Ball," when he left 
the company because he did not care to 
take the part of Dick, the younger brother 
of the clergyman-hero. The departure of 
Mr. Miller, by the way, was the first break 
in the original Lyceum Theatre Company. 

After acting Kerchival West in the revised 
version of Bronson Howard's " Shenandoah," 
Mr. Miller was engaged by Charles Frohman 
as leading man of the newly organised Em- 
pire Theatre Company, and it was while he 
held this position that his splendid work 
attracted widespread attention. His parts 
were of wide range. There was his Frederic 
Lemaitre in Clyde Fitch's one-act romance, 
— a role which, however, was created by 
Felix Morris ; his Mr. Brabazon in " Sowing 
the Wind," an old man part ; his Mr. Owen 



Henry Miller. 195 

in " Liberty Hall," a juvenile role of exqui- 
site sentiment, which Mr. Miller portrayed 
to perfection ; his J. Ffolliet Treherne in 
" Gudgeons," a character study and a mag- 
nificent impersonation. He played Ru- 
dolph in " Bohemia," the ministerial hero 
of " Michael and His Lost Angel," and the 
star-gazing David Remon of "The Masquer- 
aders." 

Mr. Miller became a star in 1 896, present- 
ing first " Heartsease," by Charles Klein and 
J. I. C. Clarke, a work of considerable emo- 
tional force though of uneven merit ; but his 
greatest success, perhaps, was in Stuart Ogil- 
vie's peculiar drama, "The Master," which 
was brought out in New York in February, 
1898. Writing of the first performance, 
Franklyn Fyles said : 

" Mr. Miller acts throughout with sincerity 
and fervour. Nothing has ever done more 
to justify his claim to a high position among 
the artists of our stage. He is easy, flexible, 



196 Famous Actors. 

graceful, and free from mannerisms of speech 
and gesture. Unsuited as he is in some par- 
ticulars to the role, his treatment is wholly 
commendable. He has to do all manner of 
heartless things with the same indifference 
that the queen in ' Alice in Wonderland ' 
cries, ' Off with his head ! ' He disinherits 
his son and his daughter because the boy 
wants to go into the army rather than into 
business, and because the girl refuses to 
marry a debauchee. 

"This catastrophe is developed precipi- 
tately before the audience has realised the 
master's stern character, though he has said 
that he cannot be made to yield to anybody 
and has told an allegory to prove that quality. 
Mr. Miller reads the latter delightfully, even 
if with some apparent effort at purely rhetor- 
ical effect. The obdurate man also tells char- 
acteristic stories to prove how domineering 
and unyielding he is. But his rejection of 
his children is the first exhibition of his tem- 



Henry Miller. 197 

per that the spectators see, and they regard 
him as a headstrong and disagreeable old 
party, with little about him at this time to 
appeal to the sympathies. 

" It is remarkable how sympathy is lost 
and regained in < The Master ' by the charac- 
ter which Mr. Miller assumes. The last trace 
the audience's regard vanishes when he turns 
his wife out-of-doors. But the touch that 
makes a play liked by the people comes in 
time to make the success of this one. The 
father is then alone, as he well deserves to 
be. Even the servants have fled from his 
temper, which has grown more aggressive 
with gout. The wife arrives, and the first 
tender note in the old man's character is 
sounded, and if the audience titters when, 
anxious about the birth of his daughter's 
child, he asks, 'And did she have a hard 
time ? ' it is rather at the homely phrase 
than through any lack of real emotion in 
the situation. 



198 Famous Actors. 

" The son, who has won his spurs in an 
African campaign, is to return this day and 
with the troops march by the house. The 
father's softening toward his son is as cer- 
tain as the sympathy he shows for his 
daughter, although it comes more slowly. 
But it does come, and possibly the master, 
like the audience, gives way under the thrill 
of that old expedient with which this new 
author closes his play. Just as in < Ours,' 
in many other pieces, and more recently 
in Sothern's production of ' The Lady of 
Lyons,' martial music has its sure effect, 
so does Mr. Ogilvie's use of it accomplish 
his purpose. The father sees his son in 
the ranks, the music grows louder, and the 
master surrenders, waving his handkerchief 
and cheering for the returning soldier. 

"Mr. Ogilvie's play takes a firm grip on 
the heart through these methods, conven- 
tional as they may be, and it is owing to 
the last act that his work will become very 



Henry Miller. 199 

popular. Under its agreeable impression 
the spectators forget what a disagreeable 
character the master has been, and are 
almost prepared to sympathise with him 
when his children return, — not because he 
deserves it, but because the band plays so 
movingly in the wings." 

Last summer, in company with Edward 
J. Morgan, Mr. Miller acted in San Fran- 
cisco at the head of his own company, pre- 
senting all the recent Eastern successes, 
including " The Liars " and " Lord and Lady 
Algy," and also winning much praise as 
Hamlet. 



CHAPTER XV. 

JAMES K. HACKETT. 

James K. Hackett has by no means 
reached his full artistic growth, and there- 
fore an estimate of him as an actor can at 
this time be of little permanent value. One 
might describe minutely and criticise pro- 
fusely the James K. Hackett of to-day, only 
to find his labour and thought made ridicu- 
lous by the James K. Hackett of to-morrow. 
For Mr. Hackett is still in an active state 
of development, and he is, except in a most 
general fashion, unclassified. We know him 
as an excellent leading man, as a fascinating 
romantic actor in " The Prisoner of Zenda," 
as more than ordinarily interesting in such 




JAMES K. HACKETT. 



James K. Hackett. 201 

a poor drama as "Rupert of Hentzau," and 
finally as the one featured player in the 
Maude Adams production of "Romeo and 
Juliet," whom all critics — those that wept 
at the downfall of tradition, as well as those 
who hailed with joy the "new" Juliet — 
agreed was in every way competent. 

All that can at present safely be said of 
Mr. Hackett is that he is a popular star, 
young in years and unquestionably talented, 
whose future, moreover, is very much in his 
own hands. In spite of the fact that a 
young actor, full in the lime-light of popular 
attention, is the envied of the many, he is 
not always to be congratulated. A failure 
means much to him, and only under ex- 
ceptional circumstances — such as the Shake- 
spearian production previously referred to — 
does he dare to attempt any new thing. 
Possibly, as in Mr. Hackett' s case, he won 
his first great applause as a romantic actor, 
and a romantic actor he feels that he must 



202 Famous Actors. 

remain until the end of the chapter. How 
does he know that he has not the genius 
to become a really great character delineator, 
and how, pray, is he going to find out? 
Surely, not by starring in one new romantic 
character a season, for the rest of his life. 
There is no worse place in the world to de- 
velop a well-rounded art than at the head of 
one's own company. 

Mr. Hackett, however, has had two ad- 
vantages enjoyed by few young actors. He 
received a college education before he had 
any thought of going on the stage profes- 
sionally, and his preliminary training during 
his first years as a player was under the 
most favourable circumstances and in the 
finest theatrical companies of the country. 
With the A. M. Palmer, the Augustin Daly, 
and the Lyceum companies Mr. Hackett 
played many parts, and played them under 
the direct supervision of men who knew 
how to correct mistakes and whose valuable 



James K. Hackett. 203 

advice was also a command. This experi- 
ence developed in Mr. Hackett versatility, 
ease, self-confidence, and suppleness of tech- 
nique. What he lacks is experience, — ex- 
perience on the stage to give authority to 
his art, and experience off the stage to 
reveal to him life and humanity and to de- 
velop sympathy, without which an actor's 
art is lifeless and unappealing. 

Mr. Hackett' s Mercutio was to many a 
genuine surprise. While he did not in the 
least suggest the sixteenth century atmos- 
phere, that is properly a part of the char- 
acter, there was so much freshness, vivacity, 
and life in his impersonation that one could 
almost forgive him for making Mercutio seem 
like a masquerading nineteenth century per- 
sonage. It is curious how the medieval 
spirit, or rather the ability to depict the 
medieval spirit, has departed from the stage, 
— that power, found now in but a few of the 
old actors, of assuming with the old-time 



204 Famous Actors. 

garments old-time thoughts, old-time habits, 
and old-time mannerisms. It is a lost art 
so far as the young generation of mummers 
is concerned, and the commonest of criti- 
cisms on a Shakespearian performance of 
to-day is, too modern. Such a fault was in 
Mr. Hackett's Mercutio. Otherwise it was 
a clear-cut, adequate conception capably pre- 
sented. Rollicking, devil-may-care, full of 
jollity, with a beast of a temper, too, and a 
boy's fondness for a scrap, this Mercutio 
died logically, with a jest on his lips and a 
smile at the yawning grave. 

" Rupert of Hentzau," in which Mr. 
Hackett starred last season, was little better 
than a lightning change exhibition. The 
play was written as a sequel to " The Pris- 
oner of Zenda," and the star was called upon 
to depict the character of the dissipated 
king, Rudolph V., and the gallant English- 
man, Rudolph Rassendyll. There was a 
mighty duelling scene, which stirred the 



James K. Hackett. 205 

blood of those fond of stage excitement, 
and there was a death scene, which was 
mechanically and pictorially pathetic. Mr. 
Hackett differentiated the two characters 
rather cleverly, though also very obviously, 
but beyond this no especial demand was 
made on his histrionic talent. 

James K. Hackett's father was James 
Henry Hackett, who fifty years ago was 
esteemed one of the most talented actors 
on the American stage. He was successful 
in both comedy and tragic roles, but his 
Falstaff was the presentation on which his 
fame was most firmly planted. That char- 
acter was familiar to and was approved by 
the entire English-speaking stage of his time. 
Young Hackett was born on Wolfe, one of 
the Canadian Thousand Islands, on Septem- 
ber 6, 1869. Two years later, on December 
28, 1 871, at Jamaica, Long Island, the elder 
Hackett died, but the boy had the advantage 
of the training of his mother, Mrs. Clara C. 



206 Famous Actors. 

Hackett, at one time a popular actress. Nat- 
urally enough, with such blood in his veins, 
the child's attention was early directed toward 
the theatre. At the age of seven he recited 
Shakespeare's "Seven Ages" in public, and 
from that time his leisure was devoted to 
theatricals. While in school and at college 
Mr. Hackett was prominently identified with 
the New York amateur stage. At eighteen 
he acted Touchstone, and at twenty he tried 
Othello. As an amateur he played most of 
Oliver Doud Byron's roles, and one of his 
greatest successes was Carraway Bones, the 
undertaker in " Turned Up." At college he 
acquired considerable reputation as a bur- 
lesque actor, and he was not only the first 
male imitator of Carmencita, but he gave 
the best of all imitations of her terpsichorean 
mannerisms. It is well to add that Hackett 
was also prominent athletically and socially 
while in college, and was a member of the 
Alpha Delta Phi Greek letter fraternity. 



James K. Hackett. 207 

Mr. Hackett took his Bachelor of Arts 
degree at the College of the City of New 
York in 1891, and immediately began the 
study of law. The stage had too many 
attractions, however, and on March 28, 1892, 
at the Park Theatre, Philadelphia, he made 
his debut as a professional actor, a humble 
member of A. M. Palmer's stock company. 
His first part was Francois in " The Broken 
Seal." In the Palmer company at that time 
were James H. Stoddart, Frederick Robin- 
son, Agnes Booth, Mrs. Bowers, and Julia 
Arthur. The week following Mr. Hackett's 
first appearance, Mr. Stoddart was compelled 
to leave the organisation on account of the 
death of his wife, and Mr. Hackett was given 
Mr. Stoddart's part of Jean Torqueric, which 
he first acted in Brooklyn. His success was 
surprising when one considers his short ex- 
perience. Mr. Hackett left Mr. Palmer in a 
few weeks to become leading man for Lotta, 
with whom he remained during the spring 



208 Famous Actors. 

until illness compelled her permanently to 
close her season. 

The season of 1892-93 was spent with 
Augustin Daly's company, with which the 
young actor played many roles in the familiar 
repertory. When Mr. Daly went to London, 
however, Mr. Hackett became leading man 
of Arthur Rehan's company, and continued 
in that capacity until the end of the regular 
season. During the season of 1893-94 he 
starred under the management of D. A. 
Bonta, in a repertory that included "The 
Arabian Nights," " The Private Secretary," 
" Mixed Pickles," and a number of Charles 
Mathews's farces. His appearance as the 
athletic parson in Minnie Seligman's pro- 
duction of " Lady Gladys " followed, and 
then he went to the Queen's Theatre, 
Montreal, where as leading man he acted 
in "Heart and Hands," "American Money," 
"Snowball," and "The Pink Mask." His 
next important engagement was as the Count 



James K. Hackett. 209 

de Neippery in Kathryn Kidder's production 
of " Madame Sans-Gene " at the Broadway 
Theatre, New York, on January 14, 1895. 
The following September he was seen as 
the Count de Charney with Mrs. James 
Brown Potter and Kyrle Bellew in "The 
Queen's Necklace." 

Mr. Hackett's first appearance with Daniel 
Frohman's Lyceum Theatre Company was 
in November, 1895, as Morris Lecalle in 
"The Home Secretary," by R. C. Carton. 
He was next cast for the leading role, in the 
Lyceum Theatre revival, on February 10, 
1896, of "The Prisoner of Zenda." That 
was virtually his debut as leading man of the 
company, for Herbert Kelcey, who for many 
years had held that position, shortly after 
the " Zenda " success, resigned. On Novem- 
ber 23d following, Mr. Hackett appeared as 
Bruce Leslie in H. V. Esmond's modern 
comedy, " The Courtship of Leonie." This 
occasion was also the American debut of 



2io Famous Actors. 

Mary Mannering, whom Mr. Hackett married 
the following March. His other r61es with 
Daniel Frohman's company were Captain 
Trefuss in "The Late Mr. Costello," by 
Sidney Grundy, the Prince of Wales in " The 
First Gentleman of Europe," by Mrs. 
Frances Hodgson Burnett . and George 
Fleming, Lord Gervasse Carew in "The 
Mayflower," by Louis N. Parker, and Sir 
George Lamorant in " The Princess and the 
Butterfly," by A. W. Pinero. During the 
run of Pinero's comedy, which was produced 
in this country on November 23, 1897, Mr. 
Hackett was taken seriously ill with typhoid 
fever, and he did not act for two months. 
Then he assumed the leading part of Nigil 
Stanyon in "The Tree of Knowledge," by 
R. C. Carton, succeeding Edward J. Morgan. 
Mr. Hackett' s starring tour began in the fall 
of 1898 in "The Tree of Knowledge," which 
was shelved after the production in Phil- 
adelphia, on November 21st, of Anthony 
Hope's "Rupert of Hentzau." 




HENRY JEWETT. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

HENRY JEWETT. 

Henry Jewett made a great success in 
Boston last season as John Storm in "The 
Christian," a part, however, which two others 
played before him. They, too, made great 
successes, for John Storm was a character 
such as actors like. Joseph Haworth de- 
clared that it was the best part he ever had 
played, and Mr. Haworth was a Hamlet 
once on a time, and not a bad one, either. 
What Mr. Haworth meant to say was that 
he got more applause in John Storm than 
he ever did in any other role. Storm was 
what the players call a " fat " part. He was 
bound to be popular with the average 
audience. He had innumerable bombastic 



212 Famous Actors. 

speeches, and he was continually the centre 
piece of a thrilling situation. 

Mr. Jewett was the only actor whom I 
saw play John Storm, so I cannot be accused 
of comparing his work with that of either 
of his predecessors. He gave a manly, frank, 
and perfectly sincere interpretation of the 
role. Indeed, sincerity was the chief charac- 
teristic of his work. It is true that he did 
not in the least, in physical appearance, sug- 
gest the ascetic, for Mr. Jewett is a robust 
and powerful fellow, with the chest and 
muscles of an athlete; but he evidently 
understood the man, John Storm, and, most 
important of all, he appreciated the honesty 
of purpose that accompanied Storm's fanat- 
icism. Mr. Jewett' s tremendous physique 
proved a genuine aid, especially in moments 
of vehement passion, such as the scene in 
which he made the attempt on Glory's life 
and the scene which culminates in the expul- 
sion of the mob from the chapel. 



Henry Je wett. 213 

There was an element of perfect repose in 
Mr. Jewett's acting in " The Christian " that 
was hardly to be expected in the represen- 
tation of a conception that was so far from 
reposeful as was John Storm. This was due 
to the complete self-control that pervaded 
every scene in which Mr. Jewett appeared. 
He had himself thoroughly in hand, and he 
was always absolute master of the situation. 
There was no ranting, there were no vain 
heroics, there was no wasted energy. He 
was quiet, straightforward, and without 
affectation. 

Mr. Jewett was an actor of wide experi- 
ence and thorough training before he became 
known in this country. He was born in 
Australia, but when he was very young his 
parents moved to New Zealand. He grew 
into manhood in Dunedin, the capitol of the 
province of Otago. Although his family had 
at no time been connected with the theatre, 
Mr. Jewett early showed a bent toward dra- 



214 Famous Actors. 

matic affairs. When he was only ten years 
old he won a prize for declamation, competed 
for by children from all the schools in the 
province, and from that time until he was 
fifteen years old he was in demand as a 
reciter. He also gained considerable notice 
by his proficiency in outdoor games and 
sports. This fondness for outdoor life led 
him, while still a boy, to go to work on a 
ranch in New Zealand, where for a time 
he lived with the cowboys and shared their 
hardships. 

On his return to school, Mr. Jewett again 
entered heart and soul into athletics, and 
soon became one of the most prominent 
cricket and football players in New Zealand. 
This reputation clung to him even after he 
became a professional actor, and as long as 
he stayed in the province he was in demand 
by all first-class teams. Then he began his 
business life at the foot of the ladder in the 
Bank of New Zealand. While a clerk he 



Henry Jewett. 215 

became interested in amateur theatricals, and 
in 1879 took part in his first play, acting 
Ralph Waters, the leading role in " Bitter 
Cold," which was performed in Dunedin by 
a cast composed of both amateurs and 
professionals. 

His professional debut was made on 
April 1, 1880, in Wellington, New Zealand, 
in a company headed by Walter Reynolds. 
After a month with this organisation he 
became connected with a stock company at 
Christ Church, of which William Hoskins was 
the manager. Here he appeared in "The 
Danites," "Arrah-na-Pogue," and "The Three 
Guardsmen." W. H. Leake was the D'Ar- 
tagnan of this last performance. 

A year of stock work in his home town of 
Dunedin followed, during which time he sup- 
ported many local stars. Then Miss Louise 
Pomeroy, who was touring New Zealand in 
legitimate drama, offered him a position 
in her company, which he accepted. Mr. 



216 Famous Actors. 

Jewett's next venture was in Australia, where 
he came under the management of W. J. 
Holloway. He first played sixteen weeks in 
Ballarat, Victoria, opening on Boxing Day, 
December 26, 1882, as Clifford Armitage, in 
" The Lights o' London." Others of his 
characters at that time were the Chevalier 
in "The Two Orphans," and Jack Adderly 
in "Across the Continent." Among the 
stars whom he supported were J. B. Polk, 
in "The Strategist," and George Darrell. 

In support of Mr. Darrell, in "The Sunny 
South," Mr. Jewett went to Melbourne, 
where he appeared also in a play called 
"The Naked Truth." Louise Pomeroy then 
joined the company as a star, and with her 
was Arthur Elliott, afterward well known in 
the United States as a member of the Fanny 
Davenport and the MacDowell-Walsh com- 
panies. After the Melbourne engagement 
the company journeyed to Queensland, where 
the plays presented were "The Silver King," 



Henry Jewett. 217 

"The Lights o' London," "Queen's Evi- 
dence," and "The Two Orphans." 

In 1884 Mr. Jewett joined Wybert Reeve's 
company in Adelaide as leading juvenile. 
Here he had an opportunity to appear in 
many modern dramas, including " Diplomacy," 
"The Money Spinner," "The Squire," and 
others of the early Pinero plays. After this 
engagement Mr. Jewett returned to Aus- 
tralia, playing on tour the Spider in "The 
Silver King." During the season of 1885— 
86, under Mr. Holloway's management, he 
acted in support of the popular Australian 
star, Essie Jenyns, playing Mercutio in 
" Romeo and Juliet," and Iachimo in " Cym- 
beline." A year in the stock company of the 
Theatre Royal in Melbourne followed, during 
which time he appeared in the first production 
of "Human Nature," which was later known 
in this country as "The Soudan." Mr. Jew- 
ett created the part of the villainous attorney. 

Mr. Jewett' s next experience was as lead- 



218 Famous Actors. 

ing man for Signor and Signora Majeroni, 
with whom he spent two years, travelling 
with them in Victoria, Queensland, and New 
Zealand. He appeared as Louis XVI. in 
" Marie Antoinette," Chateau Renaud in "The 
Corsican Brothers," James of Scotland in 
" Queen Elizabeth," Leicester in " Mary 
Stuart," and Prince Egon in a version of 
Ouida's "Wanda." In i883 he was at Her 
Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, as leading man 
for George Rignold, with whom he played 
parts of the widest range, among them Cas- 
sius in "Julius Caesar," Danny Mann in 
"The Colleen Bawn," Clifford Armitage in 
"The Lights o' London," the Chevalier 
in " The Chevalier de Vaudry," Philip Roy- 
ton in " Romany Rye," Michael Feeny in 
" Arrah-na-Pogue," Ned Singleton in "My 
Pardner," and Faust in " Faust." During 
this engagement he married Miss Frances 
Hastings, of Melbourne. 

After a short farewell season in Aus- 



Henry J ewe tt. 219 

tralia, when he played with Jennie Lee, 
acting, last of all in Australia, Bob Brierly 
in "The Ticket-of-Leave Man," Mr. Jewett 
came to America. He arrived in San Fran- 
cisco in September, 1892, and the next 
month he made his first appearance in this 
country as a member of the Stockwell The- 
atre company of San Francisco. In the 
company, of which Mr. Jewett was leading 
man, were E. J. Henley, John Jack, Arthur 
Byron and Aubrey Boucicault. Mr. Jewett's 
first part was Charles Cashmore in "My 
Uncle's Will," played as a curtain raiser to 
a play by Aubrey Boucicault, called "The 
Favourite." Later Mr. Jewett acted in 
" Nancy & Co.," " A Night Off," " Siberia," 
"Shadows of a Great City," "Two Roses," 
and " Pink Dominoes." 

The next season Mr. Jewett became lead- 
ing man for Julia Marlowe, and in this 
capacity he was first seen in the East. He 
acted in all the dramas in Miss Marlowe's 



220 Famous Actors. 

repertory at that time, among his characters 
being Wildrake in " The Love Chase," Ben- 
edick in " Much Ado about Nothing," Sir 
Thomas Clifford in " The Hunchback," Do- 
rincourt in " The Belle's Stratagem," Romeo, 
Ingomar, and Malvolio. 

During the season of 1894-95 Mr. Jewett 
was with the Richard Mansfield company, 
and created the character of Sergius in 
George Bernard Shaw's remarkable play, 
"Arms and the Man." With Rose Cogh- 
lan Mr. Jewett acted Julian Beauciere in 
"Diplomacy," and also appeared in "To 
Nemesis." Then he returned to Mr. Mans- 
field and again assumed the role of Sergius 
at the Garrick Theatre in New York. Later 
he was in "The King of Peru," a failure, 
and after that he assumed leading characters 
in the Mansfield repertory. 

Mr. Jewett was seen on December 27, 
1895, and on January 15, 1896, in New 
York and Brooklyn, in a drama by W. Echard 



Henry Jewett. 221 

Golden called "Benedict Arnold." This did 
not prove to be a success, but Mr. Jewett's 
work brought forth the following comment 
from the Brooklyn Eagle : 

" Jewett's performance of ' Benedict Ar- 
nold ' places him at a bound in the foremost 
rank of a difficult and overcrowded profes- 
sion. His performance is clearly conceived, 
and executed with judgment and power. If 
it does nothing else for him, it at least 
settles his claim to be considered an actor 
of great distinction and of equal versatility. 
We have not often seen anything so good 
as his death-scene in this play. Equal to 
this in tenderness and fidelity to nature were 
his scenes with his wife, — manly, not mawk- 
ish ; romantic, not gushing.; dignified, while 
instinct with love. He did not as a lover 
strike one false note." 

Following this, Mr. Jewett appeared in 
classic drama in a company organised by 
George C. Miln, in which appeared also 



222 Famous Actors. 

Eben Plympton, who was afterward replaced 
by John Malone, and Mary Shaw. Perform- 
ances of "Julius Caesar" and "Othello" 
were given in New York and Brooklyn, 
Mr. Jewett playing Cassius and Othello. 
For the summer season Mr. Jewett organised 
a stock company, which appeared in Kansas 
City in "Benedict Arnold," "Captain Swift," 
and " Pink Dominoes," and gave open- 
air performances of "The Merry Wives of 
Windsor," with William F. Owen as Fal- 
staff, "Twelfth Night," with Mrs. Jewett 
as Viola, and "The Lyons Mail." 

During the season of 1896-97 Mr. Jewett 
was again with Mr. Mansfield. The next 
season he was in Fanny Davenport's pro- 
duction of "Joan of Arc," and during the 
summer of 1898 he played in St. Louis in 
Shakespearian and classic dramas. He joined 
"The Christian" company on March 6, 1899, 
in Boston, and continued with it until the 
end of the season. 







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STUART ROBSON 
As Bertie in " The Henrietta." 






CHAPTER XVII. 

STUART ROBSON. 

Stuart Robson was a page in the Thir- 
tieth and Thirty-first Congresses before he 
became an actor. He was born in Annap- 
olis, Maryland, on March 4, 1836, and was 
christened Henry Robson Stuart. His father 
was Charles Stuart, a Scotchman by descent 
and a lawyer by profession. His mother 
came from a well-known Maryland family. 
Her father, John Thompson, built the first 
Roman Catholic church in St. Mary's 
County, Maryland, at his own expense. 
John Thompson was a nephew of Charles 
Thompson, a signer of the Declaration of 
Independence. Stuart Robson's mother's 
father, Henry Johnson, was a Senator from. 
223 



224 Famous Actors. 

Maryland. Her cousin, John Johnson, was 
Chancellor of the State for many years, and 
his second cousin, Reverdy Johnson, was the 
greatest lawyer of his time in Maryland. 

Charles Stuart moved to Baltimore soon 
after Stuart Robson was born, and the boy 
grew up in that city. The family resources 
were not over large, and it early became 
necessary for the youth to do something to 
increase the family fund. Reverdy Johnson 
gave him letters to friends in Washington, 
and to that city he journeyed for the purpose 
of becoming a Capitol page. 

"On my arrival there,' ' said Mr. Robson, 
" I found more than a hundred boys, all with 
more influence than I had, clamouring for 
the dozen places to be filled. Yet I held on 
to what little grip my letters gave me, and 
one day secured Jefferson Davis as one of 
my sponsors. One of the boys was reported 
sick one morning, and I immediately rushed 
for the doorkeeper, and was sent on the floor 



Stuart Robson. 225 

of the House to take the place of the sick 
boy. Howell Cobb was then Speaker of the 
House, and Robert Toombs and Alexander 
H. Stephens of Georgia were members. Mr. 
Toombs had signed my application. I natu- 
rally kept my eye on him that fateful day, 
and never missed an opportunity to jump to 
his desk on the slightest provocation. Late 
in the afternoon, he and Mr. Stephens were 
at their desks, and talking to them was a very 
large gentleman, with the biggest feet I ever 
saw on a man. Finally, a member sitting di- 
rectly behind Mr. Toombs clapped for a page. 
I immediately made for him, and in passing 
this ponderous man with the big feet I stum- 
bled over him. He gave me an awful nudge 
in the ribs with his elbow, which nearly 
knocked me down, and said : 

" < You careless little rascal ! Can't you 
see where you're going?' 

" Mr. Toombs laughed heartily, but I was in 
anything but good humour over the incident. 



226 Famous Actors. 

I completed my errand for the member who 
had called, and then took my seat below the 
Speaker's desk. A few minutes later the 
large man with the big feet, who, as I after- 
ward learned, was General Winfield Scott, 
left the House, and Mr. Toombs called me. 
He was in excellent humour, and said : 

" ' Son, there's another man over there 
with big feet, and if you'll go over and fall 
over them, I'll give you half a dollar.' Then 
he added : ' You're a new boy here, aren't 
you ? ' I explained to him that I was on duty 
only for the day, and reminded him that he 
was on my petition for a regular place. 

" ' Is that so ? ' said he. ' Well, I will go 
to the doorkeeper with you now, and have it 
fixed.' 

" He took me by the hand and went 
directly to Mr. Horner, and said, bluffly, 
to him : 

" < Why don't you give this boy a place. 
Didn't I recommend him ? ' 



Stuart Robson. 227 

" The doorkeeper explained that he was so 
crowded with applications that he could not 
find a place for me, but he promised Mr. 
Toombs that I should have the first vacancy. 
One morning I found out that one of the lads 
had been taken off by his parents. I imme- 
diately pounced upon the doorkeeper and re- 
minded him of his promise, but he put me 
off, saying that he was so crowded with 
other obligations that he could not take care 
of me. I reported the facts to Mr. Toombs. 

"'The devil you say,' said the statesman 
from Georgia. ' I'll see whether he puts you 
on or not.' 

"He took me by the hand and walked 
directly over to where the doorkeeper was 
sitting and said : 

" ' Why don't you put this boy on as you 
agreed to ? ' 

" * My dear Mr. Toombs,' he answered, ' I 
cannot do it. I have made some other prom- 
ises that I must first fulfil.' 



228 Famous Actors. 

" ' The thunder you must ! ' said Mr. 
Toombs, very emphatically. 'You'll either 
put this boy on or I'll put you out.' 

" From that day I was a page in the Capi- 
tol until I got so big that I had no business 
there. I kept the boy's jacket buttoned to 
the trousers until I was a sight, and they 
caught on to it and I had to leave." 

Mr. Robson's first theatrical experience 
was when, as a boy, in company with Edwin 
and John Wilkes Booth, S. Barry, John 
Sleeper Clarke, W. Talbot, and G. H. Stout, 
he rigged up a stage in a stable loft in Balti- 
more, and gave shows, to which boys were 
admitted for three cents and little boys for 
two cents. When Mr. Robson made up his 
mind to adopt the stage professionally, he re- 
solved to become a great tragedian. His first 
engagement was as a member of the Baltimore 
Museum company, of which John Owens was 
manager, and he made his debut on January 
5, 1852, as Horace Courtney, a serious 



Stuart Rob son. 229 

and sentimental youth, who appeared in a 
piece called " Uncle Tom's Cabin As It Is," 
which was written to counteract the effect 
of Mrs. Stowe's work. Mr. Robson had just 
one line to speak, and it was pure tragedy, 
the words being, " Farewell, my mother, — 
farewell, perhaps for ever ! " He studied 
that line long and earnestly, and fancied that 
he could put any amount of pathos into it, 
but, as well may be imagined, the audience 
received the speech, given in a high-pitched 
voice, that shook and quavered from a vio- 
lent attack of stage fright, with roars of 
laughter. Mr. Robson's connection with the 
Baltimore Museum and his purpose to be 
a tragedian ended that same night. Low 
comedy, he vowed, was good enough for him. 
For the next three years he played utility 
and small comedy parts in John Keenan's 
Varieties Theatre in Washington, and, in 
September, 1855, he became second low 
comedian in Wayne Olwyne's Museum in 



230 Famous Actors. 

Troy, New York. During 1856 he toured 
the Western circuit as leading comedian in a 
company managed by John G. Cartlitch, the 
original Mazeppa. In September, 1857, he 
returned to the Baltimore Museum. His suc- 
cess was so great that he was engaged by John 
T. Ford, of the Holliday Street Theatre, where 
he remained three years. The seasons of 
1860-61-62 were passed in Richmond, St. 
Louis, Washington, and Cincinnati, and then 
Mr. Robson became the comedian at Laura 
Keene's Theatre in New York, making his 
first appearance in that city in September, 
1862, as Bob in " Old Heads and Young 
Hearts." The next season he was engaged 
by Mrs. John Drew for the Arch Street 
Theatre, Philadelphia, and there he remained 
for three years. 

" When I joined the Arch Street Theatre 
company," said Mr. Robson, "J. S. Clarke 
had preceded me, and so had the elder John 
Drew. It was up-hill work for me for a long 



Stuart Rob son. 231 

time. I played Bob Acres the first night. 
I was as anxious to make the people laugh 
that night as I had been to impress them 
seriously when on the stage of the Baltimore 
Museum, but the house was as silent as the 
grave over my work. I couldn't raise a 
ghost of a laugh. After the curtain went 
down it was decided to drop me as soon as it 
could be done decently. In the meantime I 
was cast to play the leading part in 'John 
Wopps, Policeman/ Now it chanced that 
at that time Philadelphia was stirred up over 
a real policeman who was in love with a 
widow, and had left his post to court her. 
He declared that he had been absent in 
the pursuit of duty. In the play I made 
love to a butcher's wife, — played by Cor- 
nelia Jefferson, Joseph Jefferson's sister, — 
and the butcher discovered me embracing 
her, whereat he cried out : 

" < Knuckles o' beef and ribs o' weal, here's 
a go ! What's this I see ? ' 



232 Famous Actors. 

" I don't recall the written answer to this, 
but I do remember the one I improvised. It 
came to me like a flash. Without removing 
my arm from about the woman's waist I said : 

" * How dare you interrupt a policeman in 
the pursuit of his official duties, sir ? ' 

" That brought down the house, and there 
was no more talk about getting rid of me as 
soon as possible. In fact, from that time I 
was a great favourite in Philadelphia." 

Mr. Robson next > appeared in New Or- 
leans, and during 1868-69-70 he was at 
Selwyn's North Globe Theatre in Boston. 
After a brief engagement with Mrs. John 
Wood in "King Carrott," at the Grand 
Opera, New York, he became a star as John 
Beat, a policeman, in John Bradford's farce, 
" Law in New York," opening at the How- 
ard Athenaeum in Boston. This venture 
was only moderately successful, and a three 
years' engagement at the Union Square 
Theatre, New York, followed. After this 



Stuart Robson. 233 

Mr. Robson and Charles R. Thorne, Jr., 
acted in London, opening at the Gaiety 
Theatre on July 1, 1874, in " Led Astray," 
Mr. Robson playing Hector. In 1876 began 
a tour in Bret Harte's "Two Men of Sandy 
Bar," which proved a failure, and Mr. Rob- 
son lost $6,000, — the savings of ten years. 
The next year saw him in his great success, 
in connection with William Crane, of Pro- 
fessor Gillipod in Leonard Grover's "Our 
Boarding House," which was produced at the 
Park Theatre, New York, on January 23, 
1877. The meeting resulted in the partner- 
ship of Mr. Crane and Mr. Robson, which 
lasted twelve years, during which time they 
produced a number of successful farces, 
besides Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," 
" Comedy of Errors," and " Merry Wives of 
Windsor." In 1888 came "The Henrietta," 
regarding the production of which Mr. Rob- 
son said : 

" Crane and I began our association in a 



234 Famous Actors. 

farce. After a season or two of 'Our 
Bachelors' we did the ' Comedy of Errors/ 
but without any scenic display. Then we 
had farce-comedies written for us by Clay 
Green and Joseph Bradford. These also did 
very well, but we felt that we wanted, if 
possible, to get above that class of work. 
Then we tried < Twelfth Night,' but Sir 
Andrew and Sir Toby are only subsidiary 
to the main story, and the public didn't care 
to see stars in minor parts. So we deter- 
mined on a grand revival of 'The Dromios.' 
We spent $23,000 on it before the curtain 
went up. Well, it was a very great success, 
but it would not last very long in the coun- 
try because so many had seen us in these 
parts before, and they didn't want to come 
again simply because we were doing the 
piece more elaborately. Then we did 'The 
Merry Wives of Windsor,' and this paid, but 
as Crane played Falstaff I didn't have much 
chance. Next we considered if there were 



Stuart Robson. 235 

any more of the Shakespearian comedies we 
could do, but we found the same objection 
that had arisen in the case of * Twelfth 
Night,' that the comedy parts were too 
subordinate to be starred in. 

" As our performances of Shakespeare's 
comedies had raised us above our former 
farces, we did not want to return to them. 
We sought Bronson Howard. This was just 
about a year before ' The Henrietta ' was 
produced. He had never seen Crane act. 
We had many talks, and at last Howard 
evolved a scheme. When he told Crane 
it necessitated his doing a little pathos, 
Crane said it was simply impossible. He 
had been trained in burlesque, and he had 
never ventured on in anything with a touch 
of sentiment in it. However, we both in- 
sisted that Crane could do what was needed, 
and later, when Howard saw him play in 
some of our old pieces, he became more 
positive on the point. 



236 Famous Actors. 

" It was nine months after our first talk 
with Howard that he read us the first act 
at Cohasset. From that time each act, as 
it was finished was read and discussed, and 
suggestions given and alterations made. 
Finally we heard the whole play read many 
times. Howard took lots of pencilled notes 
and went away with his manuscript. We 
heard no more of it until it was read to the 
whole company. As it was then read so it 
was played, without a word being altered or 
a line cut out. This I think is wonderful, 
and speaks volumes for Mr. Howard's knowl- 
edge of his craft. I don't believe there is 
another instance known of a modern play 
not having been altered at rehearsal." 

On May 12, 1889, the partnership between 
Mr. Crane and Mr. Robson was dissolved, 
Mr. Robson purchasing Mr. Crane's interest 
in "The Henrietta" for $25,000. He con- 
tinued as a star in this play, in succeeding 
years adding to his repertory "Is Marriage 



Stuart Robson. 237 

a Failure?" "Comedy of Errors," and "She 
Stoops to Conquer." Last season he ap- 
peared in Augustus Thomas's comedy, "The 
Meddler." 

Mr. Robson's first wife died in 1890, and 
a year later, he married Miss May Waldron, 
who had been for many seasons a member 
of his company and who still acts with him. 
She was the daughter of W. H. Dougherty, 
a New York journalist, and was born in 
Hamilton, Ontario. In 1885 she was a 
member of Augustin Daly's company, and 
shortly after that she joined Robson and 
Crane, first acting Phryne in the "Comedy 
of Errors." She played Lady Mary Tre- 
lawney in "The Henrietta," and afterward 
Mrs. Cornelia Opdyke. In "Is Marriage a 
Failure ? " she was Mrs. Kent, and in " She 
Stoops to Conquer," Kate Hardcastle. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

MELBOURNE MACDOWELL. 

When Fanny Davenport produced Sar- 
dou's " La Tosca " in this country, at the 
Broadway Theatre, New York, on March 3, 
1888, Melbourne MacDowell acted the part 
of Scarpia. One year later he married Miss 
Davenport, and his theatrical career was 
identified with hers until her death in 1898. 
Then he became associated with Blanche 
Walsh, who last season was so successful in 
the Davenport repertory. Mr. MacDowell 's 
name is closely connected with the roles of 
Loris in "Fedora," Scarpia in "La Tosca," 
and Marc Antony in " Cleopatra." Mr. Mac- 
Dowell has an imposing stage presence, and 
238 




MELBOURNE MACDOWELL, 



Melbourne MacDowelL 239 

his physique is superb. Histrionically, while 
by no means great, he always attracts one 
by his sincerity and intelligence. His range 
is somewhat limited, but within that range 
he is convincing, forceful, and dramatically 
impressive. I like best of all his Marc 
Antony, which pictorially realises the ideal 
of the Roman warrior. Mr. MacDowell in- 
terprets the character with rare simplicity. 
His action is • straightforward and honest. 
Other actors might excel him in subtilty 
and in suggestiveness, but it is doubtful if 
any could make the Sardou creation more 
lifelike or more comprehensive. 

Mr. MacDowell was born in Little Wash- 
ington, New Jersey, and the late E. A. Mac- 
Dowell was his older brother. Melbourne 
MacDowell began life by running away to 
sea. His first experiences in the theatrical 
business occurred in Montreal, where he was 
a ticket-seller and assistant doorkeeper in 
the theatre of which his brother was man- 



240 Famous Actors. 

ager. Occasionally the stage-manager would 
borrow him to help out in some production, 
and once he played Charles, the wrestler, in 
" As You Like It," when Adelaide Neilson 
was the Rosalind and Eben Plympton the 
Orlando. 

" I was very fond of boxing and wrestling, 
and had something of a local reputation as 
an amateur athlete," remarked Mr. Mac- 
Dowell, " but my ideas of acting were a 
little vague. The first scene between Charles 
and Oliver had to be cut because I could 
not speak the lines, but in the scene of 
the wrestling match I collared my one line, 
— for Charles's second speech was also 
cut, — and when my cue came I bellowed 
it forth at the top of my voice. The house 
hooted and hissed and applauded. Miss Neil- 
son nearly swallowed her handkerchief as 
she made a break for the back of the stage. 
She had a keen sense of humour, and that 
was just the sort of a mishap that she would 



Melbourne MacDowell. 241 

enjoy. I thought I had made the hit of my 
life. I was proud of myself. Then came 
the wrestling match. The house was still 
applauding and laughing when we began, and 
in a minute I had forgotten that my part 
called for a voluntary fall. I wasn't going 
to let Plympton down me before all those 
people. My blood was up. If I went down 
it would only be because Plympton threw me 
fairly by skill. ' Fall, fall/ said he, under his 
breath. ' I'll be hanged if I do unless you 
throw me,' I replied. ' My dear fellow, you 
must, you know,' he argued ; and still I 
tugged on. 'Fall/ came the command from 
my brother who was in the wings. The gal- 
lery got on to the fact that the wrestling 
was in earnest, and the boys shouted with 
delight. Finally, I did the Greco-Roman act, 
and poor Plympton went over my head and 
flat on his back where Charles should have 
been, and the scene had gone all to pieces." 
A similar unwillingness to be beaten, even 



242 Famous Actors. 

in the interests of dramatic art, got Mr. 
MacDowell into trouble when he was given 
the part of Tim Cogan in " Arrah-na-Pogue." 
Cogan has an Irish jig contest with Katy 
Walsh in the wedding scene, and Cogan is 
supposed to be out-danced by the woman. 
Mr. MacDowell forgot all about this during 
the excitement, and only came to a realising 
sense of his wrong-doing when the woman, 
after striving bravely to follow the author's 
directions, was compelled to quit, completely 
exhausted. 

Mr. MacDowell's first regular engagement 
as an actor was at the Boston Museum, to 
which he went in 1877. Annie Clarke was 
then leading woman of the company, and 
Charles Barron was leading man. William 
Warren was principal comedian. E. A. Mac- 
Dowell was a member of the company, and 
at his earnest request Melbourne had himself 
billed as William Melbourne. His first part 
was the sheriff's officer in " Road to Ruin." 



Melbourne MacDowell. 243 

" Up to the time I came to Boston," said 
Mr. MacDowell, " I had never known what 
stage fright was. My first entrance in ' Road 
to Ruin ' was to arrest the man playing Mil- 
ford. Unluckily it was in a front scene. A 
front set is a young actor's terror. It brings 
him on right down at the footlights, so near 
the audience. When he comes on up the 
stage, on a full set, he doesn't feel the audi- 
ence, but in one of those front sets it is 
dreadful. Well, I, who had never been ner- 
vous in my life, was suddenly and unexpect- 
edly stricken with stage fright. I went on 
all right. I lifted my hand and opened my 
mouth. I couldn't take my hand down. I 
couldn't shut my mouth. I was simply para- 
lysed, transfixed. I haven't a notion how 
long I stood there when Barney Nolan 
fetched me off. But the scene had to be 
done. I was pulled together and went on 
again. This time I managed to speak. I 
shouted. Every one on the stage was whis- 



244 Famous Actors. 

pering, ' Easy, easy, my boy,' or ' Sh, Sh ! 
Don't shout ! ' But I was keyed up and 
had to go on. Barron used to say after that, 
in his quiet way, < MacDowell is a good actor, 
but he's a bit loud.' By the way, what a 
good actor Barron was ! I never knew a 
man who could play so many parts so well, 
and play them so easily. You never heard 
him complaining. Yet the bill was changed 
constantly, for there were no long runs in 
those days. You never knew even when he 
learned his parts, but he always came to 
rehearsal letter perfect, which was more than 
the young actors did." 

After leaving the Museum Mr. Mac- 
Dowell returned to Montreal, where he re- 
mained two seasons, playing leading heavy 
parts, his first character being the Duke de 
Gonzague in "The Duke's Motto." Next 
he was three years in a stock company in 
Minneapolis, first as walking gentleman, and 
then in more important capacities. One of 



Melbourne MacDowell. 245 

his roles was Cinq Mars in " The Iron Mask," 
a part that Lester Wallack used to play. A 
season with the Molly Maguire piece, "The 
Black Diamond Engineer," which was under 
the management of Charles Forbes, followed. 
"Forbes just doted on me," declared Mr. 
MacDowell, dryly. "He thought I was the 
biggest actor going because I could shout 
so." The season after leaving Forbes Mr. 
MacDowell acted Aaron Rodney in one of 
the Madison Square " Hazel Kirke " com- 
panies, and then Joseph Murphy engaged 
him to play Valentine Hay in " Kerry Gow." 
" Do you know," said Mr. MacDowell, " I 
could go back to Murphy and play that part 
any day ? He wants me, and I really don't 
think he sees any reason why I shouldn't 
come. I don't believe he thinks for a mo- 
ment that I have had such a good oppor- 
tunity since. Once, when I was in San 
Francisco appearing in • Cleopatra,' I met 
Murphy on the street. He came to me 



246 Famous Actors. 

and said, < You out here ! Say, now, what's 
to prevent you coming over and playing Val- 
entine Hay with me for awhile ? ' < Nothing 
at all/ I said. He hadn't a notion what I 
was doing and didn't discover until the next 
day. Now Murphy liked me because I was 
a big fellow and he could knock me down. 
You know on the stage it is one thing to 
give a blow, but the effect depends entirely 
on how the man takes it. Very few men are 
willing to be hit in the face. In one act of 
1 Kerry Gow,' in the blacksmith scene, Dan 
O'Hara — that's Murphy — hits Hay — that 
was I — a blow fairly in the face. I used 
to square off and take it and do a big fall. 
Murphy admired that. He would rush up to 
me after the curtain came down and feel me all 
over. ' Ain't yer hurt, man ? ' he'd ask, anx- 
iously. ' How the devil do you do it ? ' Now 
that made Murphy think me a great actor. 
My brogue was something queer, I can tell 
you, but I could take a blow squarely and do 



Melbourne MacDoivell. 247 

a great fall. That fixed me with Murphy. If 
ever I want an engagement, he'll give it to 
me." 

During the season of 1884-85, Mr. Mac- 
Dowell played in this country Jean de Le- 
rieux, the part which his brother had created 
in England, and then he joined Fanny Dav- 
enport, to create in this country the role of 
Scarpia in " La Tosca." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

SOL SMITH RUSSELL. 

No one that ever saw Sol Smith Russell 
as the impecunious inventor in "A Poor 
Relation," or as Hosea Howe, the green 
country boy in " A Peaceful Valley," can 
forget the unique temperament and quaint 
personality that so thoroughly permeated 
those two plays. He will remember that 
long, lank figure, and those thin legs, awk- 
ward and unstable and full of queer twists 
and turns ; that homely face, with its sweet, 
pathetic smile, its good-natured drollery and 
its beautiful kindliness, the face of a humour- 
ist, keen for a silver lining to brighten the 
darkest cloud, and marvellously suscepti- 
ble to the slightest touch of honest senti- 
248 



SOL. SMITH RUSSELL 
As Doctor Pangloss in " The Heir-at-Law.' 



Sol Smith Russell. 249 

ment, a face that children instinctively love. 
What the average spectator will not recall, 
when he thinks of Sol Smith Russell, is the 
actor's art, for that is the thing least in evi- 
dence when Mr. Russell is on the stage. 

Of course, with his pronounced individu- 
ality, Mr. Russell is obliged to select charac- 
ters that are to an extent eccentric. He has 
found, especially fitted to his purpose, the 
odd types that are characteristic of certain 
phases of American life, — characters, un- 
couth in physique, unschooled in social con- 
ventionalities, but with minds alert, with vast 
ambitions, and with the get-there, never-say- 
die spirit. Such a personage under the actor's 
magic touch becomes one of nature's gentle- 
men, lovable, kind of heart, generous, and 
chivalrous. Mr. Russell is a true imperson- 
ator ; he never caricatures, and he never 
burlesques. He is sympathetic to an aston- 
ishing degree, and his command of pathos is 
almost as complete as is Joseph Jefferson's. 



250 Famous Actors. 

An optimist in every sense, he idealises 
human nature, not to such an extent, how- 
ever, that one feels that he has gone beyond 
the range of man's possibilities. He is always 
faithful to life, and he is always sincere. 

Years of hard work and conscientious 
striving for better things have resulted in 
the development of this accomplished artist. 
Mr. Russell's experiences have been mani- 
fold ; he has trod the dark by-paths, and he 
has struggled long with adversity and misfor- 
tune. As a boy he travelled on foot from 
town to town, giving his little entertainments 
in barns and cellars. He shared the hard- 
ships of the soldiers during the great Civil 
War, brightening their lives with his songs 
and clever imitations, and receiving in return 
a portion of their army fare. As a humble 
member of a canal boat circus, he often shared 
with the mules the task of dragging the un- 
wieldy barge. There were years of unsatis- 
fied ambition, when he was counted only an 



Sol Smith Russell. 251 

exceptionally bright entertainer in variety 
shows. 

Mr. Russell was born in Brunswick, Mis- 
souri, on June 15, 1848, but the first dozen 
years of his life were spent in St. Louis, 
where his father moved when his son was 
very young. At that time the father made 
and sold tinware, but later he became an 
itinerant doctor and preacher. Mr. Russell's 
mother was a daughter of Edwin Matthews, 
who taught music in Cincinnati, and one of 
Mr. Russell's aunts was the wife of Sol 
Smith, the actor, for whom Mr. Russell was 
named. Both of Mr. Russell's parents were 
strongly religious, and in those days that was 
equivalent to saying that they were vigor- 
ously opposed to the theatre, so the boy's 
early fondness for the drama was gratified 
surreptitiously. 

" My very earliest recollections of any con- 
nection with the stage are of the production 
of ' The Savage of the Rocks of Borneo,' in a 



252 Famous Actors. 

cellar," said Mr. Russell. " I had seen the 
play at the St. Louis Theatre, and attempted 
a reproduction in this underground play- 
house ; but, to our misfortune, the boy who 
was to act the part of the persecuted Indian 
got into a row with the boy who played the 
White Maiden, the result being that this first 
episode in my theatrical career came to a 
sudden termination." 

In i860 Mr. Russell's father moved to 
Jacksonville, Illinois, and it was shortly after 
this that Mr. Russell organised a little min- 
strel company among his schoolmates. The 
boys walked from town to town, giving in 
barns and cellars their entertainments, the 
chief features of which were Mr. Russell's 
comic impersonations. Then the war broke 
out, and the youthful actor was wild to enlist. 
He finally ran away and became a drummer- 
boy, but was taken ill at Paducah, Ken- 
tucky, from which place he struggled home 
by steamboat and afoot. This experience did 



Sol Smith Russell. 253 

not kill his liking for army life, however, and 
as soon as he recovered his health he started 
out again and wandered from camp to camp, 
entertaining the soldiers with songs and im- 
personations, and sharing their bed and board. 

" My first theatrical engagement was at the 
Defiance Theatre, Cairo, Illinois, in 1862, at 
the magnificent salary of six dollars a week," 
said Mr. Russell. "For this recompense I 
sang between the acts and played and 
drummed in the orchestra. I had for a 
bed the stage lounge, and counted myself 
lucky to have even so good a place to sleep 
as that. The manager of the theatre, Mr. 
Holland, was very kind to me. He took me 
to his home and gave me free access to his 
excellent theatrical library, and during such 
spare time as I had, I read. My first acting 
was in a play called ' The Hidden Hand,' and 
my part was that of a negro girl. I made 
quite a success of it." 

He was then offered twelve dollars a week 



254 Famous Actors. 

if he would learn to walk the slack wire. 
He accepted and joined "Bob Carter's 
Dog Show," which travelled on a canal- 
boat. When it was necessary Mr. Russell 
joined the mules in hauling the craft. His 
next engagement was at John Bates's 
National Theatre in Cincinnati, where he 
sang between the acts, and after that he 
was a stock actor and a singer in Deagle's 
Theatre, St. Louis. Then he played in Mil- 
waukee, later becoming connected with the 
Peake Family Bell Ringers, who followed 
the army into Arkansas and Tennessee. 
During the season of 1864-65 Mr. Russell 
was second comedian in the Nashville 
Theatre, where Laura Keene and Maggie 
Mitchell also played, and the following season 
he was at Ben DeBar's Theatre, St. Louis, 
with Lawrence Barrett. The fall of 1866 
found him visiting some small Western towns 
and experiencing every variety of hard luck. 
" Perhaps you'd like to have me tell you of 



Sol Smith Russell. 255 

my walk of thirty-six miles on a given occa- 
sion, with my wardrobe, tied up in a yellow 
handkerchief, under my arm," Mr. Russell 
remarked ; " of my offering to give an enter- 
ment, single-handed and alone, in a town, — 
one of the small towns of the region, — for 
which exhibition of my talents the boys of 
the place drove me into the river and pom- 
melled me to their evident delight and satis- 
faction ; of my subsisting for three days on 
one chicken ; of my arriving at the little town 
of Meredosia, Illinois, where there was no 
printing-office ; of my taking one old hand- 
bill from my bundle, and, procuring a bell, 
going about the village and arousing the 
inhabitants, taking my bill from house to 
house, from store to store, and showing my 
programme, and then, when evening came, 
exhibiting my abilities and talents to a house 
whose receipts brought me, all told, exactly 
sixty-five cents ! But after all this was a 
good house for me at that particular time. 



256 Famous Actors. 

Often I avoided hall hire, sang in the open 
air, and took up a collection ; and on a cer- 
tain occasion I added the sale of eye- water, 
at ten cents a bottle, to my entertainment 
without any noticeable increase of receipts." 
Mr. Russell first came East with the 
Berger Family, and his impersonations of 
eccentric characters and imitations of John 
B. Gough attracted considerable attention. 
During 1867 he was connected with the 
stock company of William E. Sinn's Arch 
Street Theatre, Philadelphia, of which James 
E. Murdock was the leading actor. The next 
three years were spent as a monologue en- 
tertainer in variety theatres in New England 
and elsewhere. Mr. Russell's first appear- 
ance in New York was in 1871, at Lina 
Edwin's Theatre. He was then engaged for 
the Olympic Theatre, New York, of which 
James Duff, the father-in-law of Augustin 
Daly, was then manager. The stock com- 
pany, which regularly played at the Olympic 



Sol Smith Russell. 257 

Theatre, was an unusually large one, and 
included a ballet corps and a numerous 
chorus. Two or three different plays were 
given every night ; and sometimes, during 
the same evening, Mr. Russell was called 
upon to appear as a ballet girl in one piece 
and to impersonate one of the bearded ruf- 
fians in the next. The late James Lewis, 
formerly of Daly's Theatre, was also a mem- 
ber of the company. 

In 1874 Mr. Russell joined Augustin 
Daly's company, making his first appearance, 
on August 24th, as Mr. Peabody in "What 
Could She Do ? or Jealousy." He left the 
organisation after one season, but rejoined it 
again in 1876. While with Mr. Daly he played 
Trip in " The School for Scandal," Colander 
in " Masks and Faces," and like characters. 

Mr. Russell first appeared as a star in 
1880. He opened in Buffalo in " Edgewood 
Folks," a piece written for^ him by J. E. 
Brown, of Boston, especially to display his 



258 Famous Actors. 

peculiar abilities as a character impersona- 
tor and entertainer, Mr. Russell's specialties 
being made a prominent feature. 

" I organised the best company, in the 
way of support, that I could gather, includ- 
ing several members of Wallack's stock com- 
pany," said Mr. Russell. " I made a great 
effort, looking to splendid success. Our 
company played thirty-eight weeks with 
varying fortunes ; indeed, with small lustre 
and little profit. But the following season 
was good; the third better still, and, at the 
end of the fifth year the play in question — 
' Edgewood Folks ' — had made my reputa- 
tion as a 'drawing' star." 

Then on the retirement of William War- 
ren in 1885 from the Boston Museum, Mr. 
Russell succeeded him as leading comedian, 
but in 1886 he resumed his starring tours, 
bringing out " Felix McKusick," by J. E. 
Brown. In 1887 he produced " Pa ; " in 
1887 "Bewitched," by Edward Kidder; in 



Sol Smith Russell. 259 

1889 "A Poor Relation," by the same 
author; "The Tale of a Coat," by Dion 
Boucicault, in 1890. Since then "Peaceful 
Valley," "April Weather," a revival of "The 
Heir-at-Law," " A Bachelor's Romance," and 
"Hon. John Grigsby " have shown him at 
his best. Mr. Russell's home is in Minneap- 
olis, and his wife is the daughter of the late 
William T. Adams, known to boy readers as 
"Oliver Optic." 



CHAPTER XX. 

OTIS SKINNER. 

Otis Skinner has a vivacious and attract- 
ive personality, and is splendidly endowed 
physically ; his face is handsome, and his 
figure is well-knit and athletic. He is artis- 
tic in his tastes, and intellectually he is the 
equal of any person on the American stage. 
Yet, with all these advantages, I do not think 
that Mr. Skinner is a born actor; I do not 
think that he has a strong dramatic instinct. 
His art is not intuitive, and the effects he 
produces are the results of hard study and 
painstaking effort. Personally, I would rather 
see Mr. Skinner act than I would a num- 
ber of others whose financial and popular suc- 
cess has been greater than his. I admire 
260 




OTIS SKINNER 

As Shylock in " The Merchant of Venice. 



Otis Skinner. 261 

his intelligence ; I like his method ; and I 
enjoy watching him. Where he fails, I am 
convinced, is in simulating spontaneity, and 
this accounts, it seems to me, for his unsuc- 
cessful attempt several seasons ago perma- 
nently to establish himself as a producer of 
the better class of plays. 

Mr. Skinner's stage training has been of 
the most thorough description. He is a 
capable exponent of Shakespeare ; as a ro- 
mantic actor he stands well to the fore in 
this country ; his success last year in " Rose- 
mary " — perhaps the greatest popular hit he 
has ever made — gives him rank as a come- 
dian. Here is versatility to an unusual 
degree, and versatility, moreover, that has 
been tested, that is real and genuine. His 
sincerity is never to be questioned, and his 
conscientiousness is superb. An excellent 
criticism from the Chicago Chronicle of Mr. 
Skinner's Shylock treats fairly of the actor's 
virtues and faults as they are manifested in 



262 Famous Actors. 

this particular role, and, it may be added, 
these virtues and faults are found in other 
of Mr. Skinner's characters. 

"Mr. Skinner represents Shylock with 
remarkable moderation in the matter of ac- 
tion and speech. We know of no one else 
so temperate in these particulars. He is not 
by any means commonplace, however. In 
giving to the character a familiar manner and 
a colloquial style, with the purpose to create 
an artistic naturalism, he is careful to pre- 
serve a poetic quality that keeps his work on 
the plane of classic art. He depends upon 
intensity for the right expression of the spirit 
of the Jew ; and is rather more interested, it 
would seem, in perfecting a rational and con- 
sistent view of Shylock as a type than in 
revealing the passionate, vehement emotion 
of a particular and vindictive man. Mr. 
Skinner may not claim to be the first actor 
to deal with Shylock as a normal creature, 
one in whom are the attributes and proper- 



Otis Skinner. 263 

ties of heart and mind common to men who 
cherish affection, resent injustice, and would 
avenge wrong, but it can be said of him that 
he keeps more within the bounds of proba- 
bility, the circumstances of Shylock's life 
considered, than any actor who has seen fit 
to regard Shakespeare's Jew as something 
better and finer than a vulgar usurer and 
merely malevolent seeker after revenge 
against one who has hindered him of bar- 
gains. 

"The Shylock Mr. Skinner shows to us is 
such a man as, under favouring conditions, 
might have achieved distinction in some hon- 
ourable calling ; a man of good presence, 
self-respect, and pride, educated and of sound 
understanding, qualified to be a leader. A 
shrewd, successful business man it is, making 
the best of the only calling other than that 
of medicine permitted to him ; sordid, not 
because he loves money, but because he 
knows it to be the only defence he has 



264 Famous Actors. 

against his enemies, perceiving gold to be, 
as Shelley happily styled it, an old man's 
sword, certainly the buckler and security of 
the Jew at a time when he is compelled by 
law to wear the badge of sufferance, the 
yellow or red hat that Venice put upon a 
despised race tolerated in her midst. 

" Thus far Mr. Skinner is only in the for- 
mative period of his work, getting his concep- 
tion into substance that may be perfected 
by repeated touches and corrections in prac- 
tice. He lacks much of the subtilty that is 
more necessary in these quiet, thoughtful 
interpretations that the artist would substi- 
tute for the energised passion of dramatic 
utterance and action with which we are 
somewhat too well acquainted. He has not 
mastered the part even in accordance with 
his own conception, and in the original busi- 
ness he introduces he sometimes goes amiss, 
either through falling short of or exceeding 
the demands of the occasion. For example, 



Otis Skinner. 265 

business, the introduction of which requires 
the actor to supplement the text with words 
of his own, is, in standard classic perform- 
ances, invariably inelegant and inartistic, and 
can only serve to throw the action out of 
key. 

"Mr. Skinner has not yet made a com- 
manding picture of the trial scene, in which 
he is less original than elsewhere. He clings 
to much of the old melodramatic business, 
as in the whetting of the knife, which he 
makes laboriously deliberate instead of hav- 
ing it an incidental, casual bit of business. 
An intelligent student of Shakespeare has 
expressed the opinion that Shy lock should 
be seated, and, his legs being crossed, should 
stroke his knife on the leather of his shoe 
in that semi-preoccupied way so frequently 
noted in real life. There is not actual 
sharpening ; be sure that Shylock has seen 
to it that his knife's edge be in readiness 
for its office. Taken as a whole, however, 



266 Famous Actors. 

Mr. Skinner's performance is interesting and 
full of intelligence, promising well for the 
future." 

Otis Skinner was born on June 28, 1857, 
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father 
is the Rev. Charles A. Skinner, a Univer- 
salist minister, and at that time in charge of 
the First Universalist Church of Cambridge, 
and now of Somerville. One of Otis Skin- 
ner's brothers is Charles M. Skinner, of 
Brooklyn, prominent as an author, play- 
right, and dramatic critic. Otis Skinner's 
taste for the drama was inherited both 
from his father and his mother, from his 
mother particularly, for she was a woman 
of poetic temperament, refined taste, and 
artistic impressibility. Mr. Skinner was ed- 
ucated in Hartford, Connecticut, and after 
leaving school he became a clerk in a com- 
mission house in that city, intending to 
learn the business. On a visit to New 
York, however, he saw " The Hunchback of 



Otis Skinner. 26J 

Notre Dame" acted at the old Lyceum, 
now the Fourteenth Street Theatre, and 
this turned his attention toward the stage. 
His first efforts were directed to organising 
a dramatic company among his friends, and 
for a year this company appeared spasmodi- 
cally in small towns in what was termed a 
" Dramatic, Musical, and Literary Entertain- 
ment." 

Then Mr. Skinner secured his father's 
consent to try the professional stage. But 
his father did more for him than that. He 
obtained for his son from P. T. Barnum, 
the showman, who was also a Universalist, 
a letter of introduction to William Davidge, 
Jr., the manager of Wood's Museum in 
Philadelphia, and there, on October 30, 
1877, Otis Skinner made his debut as Old 
Plantation, an aged negro, in a rural play 
called " Woodleigh." His salary was eight 
dollars a week when the business was good, 
and nothing when it was bad. It happened 



268 Famous Actors. 

to be bad most of that winter, and the 
neophyte was obliged to tide over some 
weeks with money procured by pawning his 
books. He stuck to the company, however, 
which was more than the older actors did, 
and the result was that before long he was 
playing important parts. During the sum- 
mer he acted in the stock company of the 
Chestnut Street Theatre, of which William 
E. Sheridan was leading man and Louis 
James a member, and the following fall he 
joined the Walnut Street Theatre stock 
company, where he supported such stars as 
Lawrence Barrett, John McCullough, Mary 
Anderson, John T. Raymond, and Madame 
Janauschek. 

" How she frightened me one night ! " 
remarked Mr. Skinner, recalling his expe- 
riences in Philadelphia. "The play was 
< Macbeth/ and I was given the part of Sey- 
ton. We had been very carefully rehearsed, 
and I was letter perfect. In those days 



Otis Skinner. 269 

Janauschek was magnificent. In her pas- 
sionate scenes you could see the fire flash 
from her eyes. I had to announce the 
arrival of the king, and did so before I re- 
ceived my cue. Madame gave me my cue 
at the proper time, but, realising the mis- 
take I had made, the lines fled, and I was 
speechless. I could feel the lightning flash 
from her eyes, and waited for the explosion 
with a very sinking heart. Fortunately, it 
did not come. 

"The first time that I really stuck in my 
lines was with John McCullough. He was 
playing < Coriolanus,' and I had the very 
minor part of a Roman general. We had 
played the piece several nights, and every- 
thing went well until the night in question. 
It was during the scene I had with McCul- 
lough, and my lines went completely out of 
my head. I could think of nothing. I was 
terrified. The stage seemed to whirl around 
me. McCullough picked up my lines and 



270 Famous Actors. 

finished the scene. When I went off I felt 
as if I had committed some awful crime. 
This feeling gave way to a sense of the 
keenest shame, which was, in turn, suc- 
ceeded by anger. I was fearfully angry, 
and the hot tears were streaming down my 
face. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoul- 
der, and heard the great actor say, in the 
kindest tone : ' Feeling badly, my boy ? Don't 
mind it a bit. Accidents will happen to the 
best of us.' " 

The next season Mr. Skinner spent in 
New York, appearing first at Niblo's with 
the Kiralfys in " Enchantment." Later he 
was in " Hearts of Steel," and for a few 
weeks with Colonel Sinn in Brooklyn. Then 
he played a short season with Edwin Booth 
at Booth's Theatre, making a success as 
Francois in " Richelieu." During the season 
of 1880-81 Mr. Skinner was a member of 
the Boston Theatre Company, first appearing 
on October 26th as Lord Glenaroon in " Voy- 






Otis Skinner. 271 

agers in Southern Seas." In the cast were 
Frank Lawler, Dan Maguinniss, Mark Price, 
C. Leslie Allen, John T. Craven, Seth 
Springer, E. Y. Backus, Mrs. Pennoyer, and 
Rachel Noah. Two children also appeared 
in the play, and one of them was Harry 
Woodruff, who was last season with the 
New York Lyceum Theatre Company. After 
leaving the Boston Theatre Mr. Skinner 
became leading man for Lawrence Barrett, 
with whom he remained for three seasons, 
acting Marc Antony, Edmond in "Yorick's 
Love," Laertes, Cassio, Gratiano, and Paolo 
in "Francesca da Rimini." Five years with 
Augustin Daly's company followed, during 
which time Mr. Skinner made three trips 
to Europe with the organisation. He made 
his first appearance at Daly's in November, 
1884, in "The Wooden Spoon," and a new 
member of the company that same night was 
Edith Kingdon, who afterward became Mrs. 
George Gould. 



272 Famous Actors. 

During the summer of 1889 Mr. Skinner 
produced at the Grand Opera House, Chi- 
cago, " The Red Signal," which was by him- 
self and his brother Charles, and that fall 
he became leading man for Edwin Booth 
and Helena Modjeska, assuming the roles 
of De Mauprat, Laertes, Del A'Quilla, Don 
Caesar, Mortimer, Petruchio, Bassanio, and 
Macduff. 

"It was one of the pleasantest engage- 
ments I ever had," said Mr. Skinner, " for 
both Mr. Booth and Madame Modjeska were 
charming persons to be associated with. It 
was during this engagement that I nearly 
killed Mr. Booth. We were playing ' Mac- 
beth,' Mr. Booth acting the king and I 
Macduff. You remember the scene in the 
last act where Macduff rushes on, crying to 
the king, * Turn, hell-hound, turn ! ' and 
forces him to combat. Mr. Booth was grow- 
ing weaker, and, although an accomplished 
swordsman, had little strength in his guard. 



Otis Skinner. 273 

In the nervousness of the first performance 
I rushed on, crying the lines, and brought 
my blade down with a crashing blow square 
at his head. He held up his sword, but as 
the two weapons struck mine broke through 
his guard and struck him with great force 
on the head. Had he not worn a very heavy 
wig, and about his head a circlet of iron, the 
blow would have certainly killed him. As it 
was, he was stunned for a moment, and after 
the act, when he took off his wig and circlet, 
there was a tremendous bump where my 
sword had struck. The weapons, by the 
way, were heavy combat swords, and are now 
in my possession." 

At the end of the Booth-Modjeska season 
Mr. Skinner went to London, where for eight 
weeks he played Romeo in a production of 
" Romeo and Juliet " at the Globe Theatre. 
Two seasons with Margaret Mather followed, 
Mr. Skinner appearing as La Hire, Rudolph, 
Romeo, and similar characters. During the 



274 Famous Actors. 

season of 1892-93 he was leading man with 
Modjeska, and the next season he remained 
with her as joint star. Besides appearing 
as Macbeth and Shylock and in other roles 
in the Modjeska repertory, such as Leices- 
ter in "Mary Stuart," Armand in " Camille," 
and Orlando in "As You Like It," Mr. 
Skinner created in this country the character 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Schwartz in Herman 
Sudermann's " Magda." It did not prove 
to be one of his best parts, however. In the 
fall of 1894 Mr. Skinner became a star, 
opening at Chicago in September in a ro- 
mantic drama by Clyde Fitch, "His Grace 
de Grammont." Later he produced "The 
King's Jester," an adaptation by Charles 
Skinner from Victor Hugo's " Le Roi 
S'Amuse," and "Villon, the Vagabond," 
a play by Charles Skinner. 

Every dramatic season has its climax. 
This climax of the season of 1895-96 in this 
country came when Mr. Skinner played 



Otis Skinner. 275 

" Hamlet " in Chicago. When Modjeska 
was taken ill in Cincinnati, Mr. Skinner was 
in the wearying monotony of one-night stands 
in Indiana. With no notice whatever, he 
was thrust before the Chicago public on 
the stage of the Grand Opera House, an 
emergency attraction to fill Modjeska' s time. 
Then came the suggestion that he try 
" Hamlet." Walker Whiteside, well known 
and much admired in the West, was pre- 
senting the same character in another 
theatre, and Creston Clarke was announced 
in the same role for the following week. 
Mr. Skinner protested. He had only played 
Hamlet four times, he explained, and that 
in far-away places. Besides, he had no 
scenery. " Hamlet " it must be, however, 
and the rehearsals began, a ridiculous stage 
setting being provided by the theatre. 

On the first Tuesday night of his engage- 
ment he presented his characterisation of the 
Danish Prince. The house was small, but 



276 Famous Actors. 

the critics were out in full force. Before 
two acts had passed, Mr. Skinner had won. 
His success was marvellous. Every paper 
in the city sang his praises. Again and again 
during the remainder of his two weeks' stay 
he repeated his first triumph, but no longer 
to empty benches. The house held audi- 
ences that had not been duplicated since 
Edwin Booth and Lawrence Barrett were 
the stars. The romantic Hamlet was what 
Chicago writers termed Mr. Skinner's imper- 
sonation. Again they accentuated its hu- 
manity and its sincerity. There was no 
artificial air, no affected accent, no elocu- 
tionary trick. 

Last season Mr. Skinner was a member of 
Joseph Jefferson's company until the veteran 
was compelled to close his season because of 
illness. Then Mr. Skinner starred with suc- 
cess through the South and West in " Rose- 
mary." In April, 1895, Mr. Skinner married 
Miss Maud Durbin, who had been associated 



Otis Skinner. 2JJ 

with him professionally for several seasons. 
In June of that same year he was given the 
honorary degree of Master of Arts by Tufts 
College. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

J. E. DODSON. 

J. E. Dodson is one of the finest charac- 
ter actors on the English-speaking stage. 
He is a Londoner by birth, and although he 
came to this country only ten years ago, 
after a stage experience of over fifteen 
years' duration, he is comparatively un- 
known in the British theatrical centre. Mr. 
Dodson's training was confined entirely to 
the provinces. It is curious that this fine 
English actor should have remained practi- 
cally unrecognised until he came to the 
United States with the Kendals. Fate, 
apparently, conspired to keep Mr. Dodson 
out of London. When he first went on the 
stage, in the seventies, he resolved not to 
278 




J. E. DODSON 
As John Weathersby in " Because She Loved Him So." 



J. E. Dodson. 279 

appear in London until he could act a first- 
class character in a first-class theatre with a 
first-class company. In 1885, while he was 
playing the Hon. Vere Queckett in "The 
Schoolmistress," John Clayton saw him, and 
engaged him to appear as Mr. Posket in 
"The Magistrate." Mr. Dodson's work in 
that character pleased Mr. Clayton so much 
that he made arrangements for Mr. Dodson 
to present Arthur Cecil's roles for two 
years at the Court Theatre, London. Mr. 
Clayton's death in 1888 frustrated these 
plans, and in 1889 Mr. Dodson joined the 
Kendals. He came with them to the United 
States, and after that visit, in 1893, he made 
his debut in London while still a member 
of the Kendals' company. 

Mr. Dodson was one of last season's great 
successes in the old man character of John 
Weatherby in the bright little farce, "Be- 
cause She Loved Him So." Mr. Dodson 
always had a genius for makeup, but in this 



280 Famous Actors. 

part he fairly outdid himself. Not only was 
the face perfect, denoting in every line benign 
old age, but the imitation was carried into 
the stooping shoulders and into the walk, 
which had a hint of a shuffle and just a 
touch of feebleness. No one that saw Mr. 
Dodson on the stage would take him for a 
sprightly man of forty-two years, who, how- 
ever, does not begin to look his age. Mr. 
Dodson's assumption of old age did not end 
with mere physical imitation. His mental 
conception was equally as true to life, and 
the part was played with a zest, a rich hu- 
mour, and a finish that could hardly have 
been bettered. 

Mr. Dodson was born in 1857. He was 
originally intended for the bar, but after 
studying law for six months he decided that 
the stage would suit him better. He had 
had a little amateur experience before he 
made his professional debut in 1877 at the 
Princess Theatre, Manchester, which was 



y. E. Dodson. 281 

under the management of Boston Browne, 
a wealthy American. Augustus Harris was 
the stage-manager. Mr. Dodson's first part 
was in "The Spelling Bee," in which J. L. 
Toole was starring. Mr. Dodson remained 
in Manchester for two years, and between 
the seasons he went to Paignton in Devon- 
shire to play juvenile leads, such parts as 
Pygmalion, Claude Melnotte, and Bob Brierly. 
He could not have been startlingly success- 
ful, for Edward Terry advised him to make 
a specialty of character and comedy parts. 
And Mr. Dodson had the wit to follow the 
advice. 

At the Theatre Royal and Gaiety The- 
atre, Dublin, both under the management of 
Michael Gunn, Mr. Dodson played second 
low comedy parts. Engagements in Liv- 
erpool, Glasgow, and Edinburgh followed, 
and then he was secured by T. C. King 
as first low comedian of the Royal Theatre, 
Worcester. 



282 Famous Actors. 

" I assumed my histrionic duties with fear 
and trembling," Mr. Dodson remarked, "and 
in the course of the season appeared in an 
exclusive round of old comedy, Shakespearian 
and modern roles. In fact, I had the good 
luck to become quite a local favourite, and 
was tendered a benefit at the end of the 
season. During the Christmas holidays I 
was cast as the comedy old woman in the 
pantomime of ' Jack and Gill/ " 

Subsequently Mr. Dodson acted at Bath, 
Aberdeen, Dundee, Greenock, and appeared 
again in Edinburgh in both pantomime and 
drama. He supported Joseph Jefferson in 
" Rip Van Winkle " and J. K. Emmett in 
"Fritz." He travelled with W. Calder in 
"The White Slave." He was the origi- 
nal Carraway Bones in "Turned Up," in 
Glasgow, and the original Professor in 
"Kleptomania." He played the dual r61e 
in J. Derrick's "Twins." He toured with 
Clayton and Cecil's company for two years, 



J. E. Dodson. 283 

and in 1889 he joined Mr. and Mrs. 
Kendal. 

" I played in ' Rip Van Winkle ' with 
Joseph Jefferson for five or six weeks," said 
Mr. Dodson, "and with Emmett I played 
Snow, the negro, in < Fritz ' for four months 
in the provinces. Emmett was a wonder- 
fully magnetic actor. He crowded the houses 
everywhere. While I was with him he never 
would take an encore for a song, no matter 
how persistent the applause. He was opposed 
to encores on the ground that any persons in 
the audience who were bent on hearing the 
song a second time could come again the fol- 
lowing night. Another peculiarity of Emmett 
was that he would never allow long waits 
between the acts. He maintained that the 
people came to see the performance, and that 
the scenic setting was of minor considera- 
tion. So he'd have the curtain rung up on 
time, no matter whether the setting was 
completed or not. 



284 Famous Actors. 

"During a tour with James Buchanan in 
' It's Never Too Late to Mend,' I played 
Jackey and afterward Peter Crawley. I also 
played a negro part in a revival of ' Black 
and White,' which Wilkie Collins wrote for 
Charles Fechter, and I took part in the 
provincial production of a piece by Arthur 
Sketchley, called ' Craft. ' I looked for- 
ward to playing Carraway Bones in Lon- 
don, but Willie Edouin decided to act it 
himself there, so that was another time 
that I was disappointed in my London as- 
pirations." 

Mr. Dodson tells this amusing experience 
that he had with a portion of his makeup 
during the first performance of " Turned 
Up " in Glasgow : 

"In order to give Carraway Bones the 
requisite facial eccentricity, I was in the 
habit of enlarging my nose. In the second 
act I had to make a precipitate fall through 
a thatched roof, which caused considerable 



J. E. Dodson. 285 

damage to my facial enlargement. My fall 
brought down the house, and as that was the 
first night the manager was so delighted with 
the success of the scene that he came to my 
dressing-room and opened a bottle of cham- 
pagne. Consequently I had no time properly 
to adjust my false nose before going on for 
the next scene. That was a fatal mistake, 
because Captain Medway, according to stage 
directions, had to shake the life out of Carra- 
way Bones, and Bones had to shake his head 
violently to make the shaking seem extra 
vigorous. These directions were faithfully 
carried out, so much so that the artificial 
portion of my nose flew over my head, which 
nearly sent the audience into convulsions. 
We received a call after the scene, and, in 
response to some chaff from the gallery, I 
assured the audience that my nose always 
peeled in hot weather." 

Mr. Dodson was for five years the charac- 
ter comedian of the Kendals' company, and 



286 Famous Actors. 

it was in the course of their American tours 
that he achieved his great popularity in this 
country. He appeared in a number of char- 
acters originated by John Hare, as well as 
several created by himself. His parts were 
Baron Montrichard in " The Ladies' Battle," 
Radford in "All for Her," Penguin in "A 
Scrap of Paper," Moulinet in "The Iron 
Master," Sam and the Colonel in " The 
Queen's Shilling," Gunnion in "The Squire," 
Baron Croodle in "The Money Spinner," 
Cayley Drummie in "The Second Mrs. Tan- 
queray," Mr. Bargus, M.P., in "The Weaker 
Sex," Hoel Brinnilow in "Katherine Kava- 
nagh," Mr. Barker" in "Uncle's Will," Al- 
fred Hart in " It Was a Dream," Potter in 
"Still Waters Run Deep," Captain Mount- 
raffe in "Home," and the title r61e in "The 
Disciple." 

Mr. Dodson's best known characters since 
he came under Charles Frohman's manage- 
ment five years ago have been Matthew 



■ • '--*- 



J. E. Dodson. 287 

Keber in "The Bauble Shop," Montague 
Lushington in "The Masqueraders," and 
the Rev. Stephen Wynn in "John-a- 
Dreams." 



CHAPTER XXII. 

ROBERT B. MANTELL. 

It was in the early eighties that Fanny- 
Davenport produced Victorien Sardou's 
drama, " Fedora," at the Fourteenth Street 
Theatre in New York. This play was origi- 
nally written for Sarah Bernhardt, who made 
an extraordinary impression in the title role. 
It was also the first of that series of dramas, 
which included " La Tosca," " Cleopatra," 
and " Gismonda," in which the French dram- 
atist, a master of the mechanics of play 
building, depicted with wonderful theatric 
intensity womankind swayed by barbaric 
passion. These plays depended entirely for 

effect on the most harrowing situations, de- 
288 




ROBERT B. MANTELL 
In " The Corsican Brothers." 



Robert B. Mantell. 289 

veloped by the author with remarkable in- 
genuity. They were not in any sense related 
to the higher class of the drama, which re- 
gards the development and study of charac- 
ter as the prime essential in a dramatic work. 
Yet these Sardou's plays were so cunningly 
wrought that the right kind of actor found 
them exceptionally good vehicles for the con- 
veyance of striking dramatic impressions. 

" Fedora " was new to this country when 
Fanny Davenport brought it out, and, more- 
over, the theatre-going public of those days, 
comparatively unaccustomed to the refined 
form of the mechanical drama, was in just 
the proper condition to be carried completely 
out of itself by the crafty Sardou. It was 
not surprising, therefore, that " Fedora " was 
pronounced a great play, and that Fanny 
Davenport, already an accomplished and 
popular actress, was accorded high rank as 
a dramatic artist. But it was not " Fedora" 
nor Miss Davenport that made the occasion 



290 Famous Actors. 

of the play's first production in this country 
one of the most remarkable on record. The 
credit for that belongs to Robert B. Mantell, 
who, up to the moment that he made his 
entrance as Loris Ipanoff in the middle of 
the second act, was almost unknown. To 
be sure, he had been on the stage for twelve 
years and had acted in the United States for 
several seasons, but until he played Loris he 
was merely one of the thousands. 

That scene in the second act of " Fedora " 
is now a familiar one. Loris enters quietly 
with a number of others, and attention is not 
directed toward him until he begins to tell 
the story of the murder. The effect that Mr. 
Mantell made by this recitation is vividly re- 
membered by those that witnessed the scene. 
Men trembled and women grew white with 
emotion. As the play progressed he swayed 
the house with the brilliancy and potency of 
his acting, until it seemed as if the limit 
of human endurance were reached. There 



Robert B. Mantell. • 291 

were sobs and hysterical laughter from an 
audience that was fairly beside itself. For- 
tunately, such scenes in the theatre are of 
rare occurrence. This one gave Mr. Man- 
tell a national reputation, and established him 
a few seasons later as a successful star. 

Robert Bruce Mantell was born in Ayr- 
shire, Scotland, on February 7, 1854. When 
he was four years old his parents moved to 
Belfast, Ireland, and there the boy grew up 
and figured as an amateur actor, playing 
Polonius in " Hamlet " when he was sixteen 
years old. Mr. Mantell's parents were not 
inclined to favour his desire to adopt the 
stage as an avocation, and accordingly he 
ran away from home. His theatrical debut 
was made in Rockdale, Lancashire, England, 
in 1874, as the Sergeant in Boucicault's 
" Arrah-na-Pogue." George Clarke, after- 
ward for many years identified with the 
Augustin Daly Company, was the star of 
this performance. Later, in the same com- 



292 Famous Actors. 

pany, Mr. Clarke and Mr. Mantell appeared 
together in "The Shaughran," the former 
acting Conn, and the latter Father Dolan. 
For the next three years Mr. Mantell wan- 
dered through the British provinces, sup- 
porting such eminent players as Barry Sul- 
livan, Charles Mathews, Dion Boucicault, 
Charles Calvert, Miss Marriott, and Samuel 
Phelps. 

Mr. Man t ell's first visit to the United 
States was made in 1875. He hoped to 
get an engagement at the Boston Museum, 
but being unsuccessful in that he walked the 
streets of Boston for ten days, and then in- 
vested what money he had left in a return 
ticket to England. In 1878 he came again 
and joined Modjeska's company, in which he 
acted small parts for a season. Next he was 
with George Knight, playing Catto Dove to 
Knight's Buster in " Forbidden Fruit." Then 
he returned to England and became leading 
man for Miss Ellen Wallis, with whom he re- 



Robert B. Mantell. 293 

mained three years, appearing in Wills' s play, 
"The Miron," "Romeo and Juliet," "Mac- 
beth," as Benedick in "Much Ado," Charles 
Surface in "The School for Scandal," Young 
Marlow in " She Stoops to Conquer," Claude 
Paul in " Paul and Virginia," Iago, and 
Othello. He also played Leicester to the 
Amy Robsart of Marie de Gray. 

In 1883, Mr. Mantell came again to this 
country, expecting to take part in John Stet- 
son's production of " Romany Rye." There 
was some misunderstanding about his en- 
gagement, however, and when he got here 
he found his position in the company already 
filled. So he toured the States with a com- 
pany that was presenting " The World." 
Stetson sent for him later on, and Mr. 
Mantell took the part in " Romany Rye," 
for which he was originally engaged. His 
great success with Fanny Davenport fol- 
lowed. After leaving Miss Davenport he 
created the character of Gilbert Vaughn in 



294 Famous Actors. 

Hugh Conway's "Called Back." The play 
was not successful, and he next appeared in 
"Dakolar," under Daniel Frohman's manage- 
ment at the New York Lyceum Theatre. 
Another engagement with Fanny Daven- 
port in "Fedora" ended his career as a 
leading man. 

In 1885, for his debut as a star, Mr. Man- 
tell produced at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, 
New York, Mr. Keller's "Tangled Lives," 
which he presented that season throughout 
the United States. " Monbars " was his 
next play, and that was followed by produc- 
tions of " The Corsican Brothers," " Othello," 
"Hamlet," "The Marble Heart," "Romeo 
and Juliet," "The Lady of Lyons," "A Les- 
son in Acting," "The Louisianian," "Par- 
rhasius," "A Face in the Moonlight," "The 
Queen's Garter," and "The Secret Warrant." 

In Shakespeare Mr. Mantell is remarkably 
successful in catching the popular ear. I 
saw him play " Othello " last year in a thea- 



Robert B. Mantell. 295 

tre given over principally to second-class 
melodrama and boisterous farce, and the im- 
pression that he made on the spectators, who 
cared nothing for Shakespeare and every- 
thing for the play, was remarkable. The 
drama was given with the most ordinary 
scenery and the most meagre of stage ac- 
cessories, and it was astonishing to see with 
what raptness the audience followed the de- 
velopment of the plot and how quickly it 
grasped the import of the changing situation. 
Mr. Mantell's art is not always refined, nor 
is his self-restraint absolute, but his personal 
magnetism is great and his appeal to his 
audience direct and convincing. He did not 
seem to get into the spirit of Othello at first, 
and his reading of the address to the Duke, 
justifying Othello's marriage to Desdemona, 
was artificial, without proper dignity, and 
altogether disappointing. In the scenes 
following the degradation of Cassius, how- 
ever, Mr. Mantell's work became forceful. 



296 Famous Actors. 

His conception of the character broadened, 
and he set forth the jealousy and mad passion 
of the Moor with a vividness that reacted 
tremendously on the spectators. 




ROLAND REED. 






. 






CHAPTER XXIII. 

ROLAND REED. 

Blessed with an odd personality that is 
irresistible in its appeal to the comic sense, 
with abundant humour, and with mobile fea- 
tures that of themselves suggest fun and 
laughter, Roland Reed has won his success 
on the stage by remaining distinctly himself. 
When he was a call-boy at the Arch Street 
Theatre in Philadelphia, Mrs. John Drew 
once said to him : " You will make a come- 
dian. Your nose, if nothing else, will bring 
you fame." Mr. Reed has little or no gift 
of impersonation, but he has the ability un- 
erringly to adapt every character that he 
acts to his own limitations. He has the 

quick, breezy firmness of touch that is nec- 
297 



298 Famous Actors. 

essary to a farceur. His methods are broad 
and open, and his perception of the ridic- 
ulous is sure. On the stage he is never 
anything but Roland Reed, and for the time 
being no one wants him to be anything else. 

Mr. Reed's nose is so much a part of his 
theatrical equipment that it warrants a care- 
ful description. To be sure, it is not as 
long as the wax one that Richard Mansfield 
fastens to his face when he plays Cyrano de 
Bergerac, but Mr. Reed's is large enough 
for all practical purposes, so large, in fact, 
that he cannot always escape talking through 
it. "It is about all one sees of his face," 
is the way one man put it. A front view 
photograph of Mr. Reed shows nothing es- 
pecially out of the ordinary. The nose is 
there, of course, but, comparatively speaking, 
only mildly. One must catch his profile 
to get the full effect. It is a feature as 
Roman as Julius Caesar himself. 

If one were to attempt to classify Mr. 



Roland Reed. 299 

Reed he would perhaps call him an eccentric 
light comedian ; but he would be obliged to 
add that Mr. Reed's comedy always has a 
touch of caricature and always suggests a 
tendency to burlesque. I do not mean to 
say that he does actually burlesque, but 
when an actor has purposely divorced him- 
self from all seriousness, as is the case with 
Mr. Reed, the temptation to overdo the thing 
a little bit, for the sake of the laugh that is 
sure to follow, is strong. I think that Mr. 
Reed honestly resists this temptation, and, 
as far as I have had the opportunity to judge, 
he is usually successful. 

Mr. Reed's connection with the stage is 
hereditary. His father was John Roland 
Reed, who was connected with the Walnut 
Street Theatre, Philadelphia, for fifty-six 
consecutive years as actor and stage me- 
chanic. His services began in 1824, when 
he was sixteen years old, as the rider of 
the celebrated stallion, Lord Nelson, in the 



300 Famous Actors. 

"grand entree" that preceded a circus per- 
formance which was being given in the 
theatre. After that he was the dragon 
in a production called " St. George and the 
Dragon." Next he was employed to care 
for the lights of the theatre, and from that 
he worked into the position of gas man 
after the use of oil was discontinued in play- 
houses. After leaving the Walnut Street 
Theatre, in 1880, Mr. Reed was engaged 
at the National Theatre, Philadelphia, where 
he remained for five years. He then at- 
tempted to retire from active service, but 
he could not stand idleness. He secured 
a position in the Temple Theatre, Philadel- 
phia, in 1887, where he remained until the 
house burned down. After that Mr. Reed 
was induced to give up work for good. 

Roland Reed was born in 1856 in Phila- 
delphia, and as a child was often made use 
of in pieces produced at the Walnut Street 
Theatre. His first appearance occurred in 



Roland Reed. 301 

the old-time farce, called "Peter White," 
with Tom Placide, when he was six months 
old. When he wore ginghams and was still 
at school, he tended the stage door at the 
Walnut for $1.50 a week, and studied his 
next day's lesson at the theatre in the even- 
ing. Next he became an usher at the Arch 
Street Theatre, for which he received $3.50 
a week. 

" One night an old gentleman asked me 
if I didn't want to play a bootblack in ' The 
Streets of New York,' which they were going 
to put on. Mrs. John Drew was manager 
at that time," said Mr. Reed. " I told him 
I wouldn't mind. Then one day I got a 
note from Mrs. Drew to come to see her. 
She offered me the position of call-boy at 
a salary of $5 a week. This was a rise in 
life, and from call-boy I became prompter. 
I used to read the plays to the actors, stand- 
ing beside Mrs. Drew, who corrected me 
when I made mistakes. When I was still 



302 Famous Actors. 

call-boy Lotta came to play her first star 
engagement in Philadelphia. One day < Bob ' 
Craig, the comedian, was ill, and announced 
that he wouldn't be able to play his part 
in 'The Firefly.' I hurried to Mrs. Drew 
and asked for the part. She hesitated, but 
I assured her it would be all right. So she 
told me to try, and I sang the songs with 
Lotta and made a hit. Then I applied for 
the position of comedian for the next season, 
but Mrs. Drew had already engaged another, 
an Englishman. Then I resolved to strike 
out for something better, and I left the 
Arch. My father said : * My boy, you've 
ruined yourself.' I replied : ' Do you think 
I want to spend my life carrying tables and 
chairs on the stage ? ' And I went to the 
Walnut, where they made me an offer to 
share the comedy roles with Chapman. I 
worked there for $18 a week. In 1871 
Goodwin became manager, and about that 
time I left Philadelphia. 



Roland Reed. 303 

" When I was a boy and used to sit at the 
stage door," Mr. Reed continued, " I don't 
think I ever wanted to be an actor. To be 
a grocer seemed to me the summit of human 
glory. I did like to watch the fight in 
' Richard III.,' though. No Richard ever 
fought that combat in those days that I 
did not get some substitute at the stage 
door while I would steal up to the gallery 
or flies to witness the blood-curdling combat. 
Of all the throng of celebrities who passed in 
and out of that historic old back door, John 
Wilkes Booth impressed me most by the 
elegance of his dress and manner, and by his 
handsome face, which was so striking that no 
one could fail to be impressed by it. It was 
about six months before the assassination of 
Lincoln that I saw him. Once, in passing 
out, Booth looked closely at me, and, seeing 
what a small boy I was for such a position, 
turned back, shook hands with me, leaving 
in my palm a substantial present, which I 



304 Famous Actors. 

made all haste to spend, not foreseeing what 
a memento of the man it would be now." 

Mrs. Drew's Arch Street Theatre Com- 
pany was a famous organisation. Mrs. Drew 
was leading comedy actress, and Barton Hill 
was leading man. Lizzie Price, afterward 
the wife of Charles Fechter, was leading- 
juvenile. Fanny Davenport was the sou- 
brette ; Louis James, walking gentleman ; 
Stuart Robson, second low comedian ; F. F. 
Mackay, character and old man parts ; Clara 
Fisher Maeder, character old women, Mrs. 
Thayer, general old women ; and Robert 
Craig, first low comedian. Craig was also 
something of a dramatist, and wrote the 
first sketches in which Lotta appeared, and 
also several for Mr. Reed. 

From Philadelphia Mr. Reed went to New 
Orleans, where he appeared in the Academy 
of Music. Then he acted at the Olympic 
Theatre in St. Louis, and also in Kansas 
City. In 1873, Lizzie B. Price, with whom 



Roland Reed. 305 

he had played at the Arch Street Theatre, 
organised a company, under the management 
of David Hanchett, to present " Lucretia 
Borgia " and " The Octoroon " on tour, and 
Mr. Reed joined her. The venture was an 
unfortunate one, but the company finally 
reached Port Huron, Michigan, where it was 
billed to play " Lucretia Borgia " one night 
and " The Octoroon " the next. Mr. Reed 
was Geppo in " Lucretia Borgia," and T. R. 
Hann was Gubette. Mr. Hann's costume 
was a remarkable affair. He wore an old 
pair of cotton tights darned at the knees, 
and held in position by a belt, which his 
jerkin was too short to cover, a pair of old 
russet shoes, of about the time of Charles L, 
and on his head a wig minus of all except 
four of its original curls. 

The audience was none too friendly in the 
first place, and this rig was almost more than 
it could stand. However, the banquet scene 
in Lucretia Borgia's palace was reached. The 



306 Famous Actors. 

cavaliers were seated at the table, the fatal 
liquid was poured out. Mr. Harm, whose 
sense of smell was somewhat defective be- 
cause of old age, raised his goblet to his lips 
and drank. He flung the goblet from him. 
His eyes fairly stuck out of his head. He 
choked and sputtered and finally gasped, 
" Coal oil ! " The audience shrieked with 
laughter, and there ended the performance 
for that night. The next day Miss Price 
and her manager left the company stranded. 
There were twelve actors in the party, and 
they organised the Roland Reed Comedy 
Company and went over the border into Can- 
ada. After a few weeks they returned to Port 
Huron, quite as badly off financially as they 
were before. Mr. Reed induced the local band 
to accept a benefit and pay the company $50 
for its services. The band lost just $30 by 
the deal, but the $50 was enough to send 
eleven of the actors to their homes, Mr. 
Reed himself reaching Detroit by means of a 



Roland Reed. 307 

freight train. It was midsummer, and how 
to keep alive until fall, when he could get an 
engagement, was a serious problem. 

"I was almost on the point of despair," 
said Mr. Reed, "when I ran across a book 
agent who wanted me to buy an illustrated 
music-book, price two dollars. Music being 
in my line, I fell into conversation with the 
fellow, who informed me that he was doing 
very well, but could do better if he could 
play the piano. Here was a chance for me, 
thought I, and so out of my ridiculously small 
pile I sent for some of the books, and started 
out to try my luck as a music seller. From 
Detroit I canvassed the whole State of Mich- 
igan, making from $75 to $100 a week. I 
soon found out that I must get the entree 
to the houses ; so, upon arriving at a place, 
I would go straight to the mayor or the 
principal lawyer or the doctor and present 
him with a set of songs. I would soon be 
summoned by the ladies of the family to 



308 Famous Actors. 

sing and play the music the book con- 
tained. The songs were not first-class, so 
when I found the ladies were cultivated I 
would play the finest classical music I knew. 
Sometimes a lady would read the music over 
my shoulder and tell me the notes I played 
were not there. I crept out by saying I was 
playing the air part, and so never failed to 
sell a book. At the end of my five weeks of 
canvassing the publisher of the music-book 
offered me $150 a week if I would continue 
in the business." 

That fall Mr. Reed became leading come- 
dian in John Ellsler's Cleveland Theatre, 
where he succeeded James Lewis, who had 
joined Augustin Daly's company. While 
Mr. Reed was there E. L. Davenport saw 
him act, and secured him a position in the 
Walnut Street Theatre, and he was at that 
house during the Centennial season. He 
again went to New Orleans, and in 1878 
joined McVicker's Chicago company, with 



Roland Reed. 309 

which he remained two seasons, appearing in 
such characters as Doctor Ollapod in "The 
Poor Gentleman," Doctor Pangloss in " The 
Heir-at-Law," Bob Acres in "The Rivals," 
Gobbo in " The Merchant of Venice," the 
First Grave Digger in " Hamlet," Picard in 
"The Two Orphans," O'Rourke, the Irish 
sergeant, in "A Celebrated Case," and the 
leading comedy part in Lord Bulwer-Lytton's 
comedy, " Money." 

After leaving McVicker's he was the lead- 
ing comedy light of the Colville Comedy 
Company, which travelled from New York to 
San Francisco and back again, presenting 
burlesques and extravaganzas. In the early 
eighties he appeared as a star at Daly's Thea- 
tre, New York, in " An Arabian Girl." Then 
he played the Jew in " The World," after 
which he was billed as a star in Fred Mars- 
den's " Cheek," and again in the same au- 
thor's " Humbug." He was the creator of 
the character of Ko Ko in this country in 



310 Famous Actors. 

the production of an unauthorised version of 
"The Mikado," which Sidney Rosenfeld 
brought out in New York. It was a short- 
lived affair, though Mr. Reed made a personal 
success. Then Mr. Rosenfeld staged an 
adaptation of one of Audran's operas, which 
he called "The Bridal Trap," but this was 
also a failure. 

In 1887 Mr. Reed produced "Lend Me 
Your Wife," an adaptation of the same farce 
from which "Jane" was afterward taken, 
and since that time his success has been 
continuous. His plays have been " The Club 
Friend," "Innocent as a Lamb," "The Poli- 
tician " (a revised version of " For Congress," 
a popular comedy in John T. Raymond's 
repertory), " The Wrong Mr. Wright," and 
" His Father's Boy." 




JOSEPH HAWORTH 
As Hamlet. 



I 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

JOSEPH HAWORTH. 

In 1895 Joseph Haworth played a long 
engagement in Boston in the standard drama, 
acting the leading roles in " Hamlet," " Rich- 
ard III.," and " Richelieu," besides appearing 
in "The Bells," " Rosedale," and "Rinaldo." 
Although Mr. Haworth' s support was not 
good, he himself made an excellent impres- 
sion in a most arduous repertory. His 
Hamlet was conventionally conceived. While 
it never rose to sublime heights, never carried 
the spectator entirely out of himself, it was 
at all times scholarly, and in moments gen- 
uinely effective. It could not justly be 
called great, but neither was it ordinary or 
commonplace. 

3" 



3 1 2 Famous Actors. 

His Richard III. was, as a whole, more im- 
pressive than his Hamlet, though he made 
the mistake of using the ridiculous Colley 
Cibber version with its introduction of King 
Henry IV. in the first act. There was one 
great moment in Mr. Haworth's presentation 
of the character, and that came when, recov- 
ering from the commotion into which the 
vision of his murdered victims had thrown 
him, he cried, " Richard is himself again ! " 
At that moment Mr. Haworth touched a 
height which he did not reach at any other 
time during the performance. He was sin- 
cere, thrilling, and dramatic without being 
theatrical. 

Mr. Haworth was entirely new to the 
character of the Duke of Gloster, and con- 
sequently he had by no means wholly mas- 
tered his conception and impersonation of the 
part. Indeed, the actor could do little more 
than show the lines on which he intended to 
develop his characterisation. Richard III. 



Joseph Haworth. 3 1 3 

is an exceedingly complex personage. He 
is deformed both in body and mind. He is 
supremely selfish and abnormally ambitious, 
and he knows no law but his own will. He 
is bold, even courageous ; he is crafty, knows 
how to dissimulate, how to play upon the 
hearts of men, and how to win their confi- 
dence so that, though they know him black, 
they would fain believe him white. He has a 
tongue which can speak soft, soothing words 
of flattery, or send forth between smiling 
lips keen shafts of sarcasm that cut like 
knives. What a master artist of play acting 
is he that can conceive and set forth in all 
its entirety such a character ! 

Mr. Haworth's Richelieu was stronger 
than either his Hamlet or his Richard III. 
He did not comprehend to the full the crafty 
side of the cardinal's nature ; he did not 
make plain the master mind that ruled 
France by probing into the secrets and in- 
dulging the weaknesses of her king and his 



314 Famous Actors. 

court. He failed also thoroughly to estab- 
lish the fact of the cardinal's physical weak- 
ness. He did appreciate the force of the 
power of will that in moments of excitement 
would conquer decrepitude and bring a flash 
of the old-time bodily vigour. Mr. Haworth 
gave one the notion that the cardinal's illness 
was a good deal of sham, and such an im- 
pression threw the character entirely out of 
focus. Once in awhile the actor was in- 
clined to preach, but usually he read Bulwer- 
Lytton's sonorous speeches with good elocu- 
tion. Richelieu's affection for Julie was 
often beautifully indicated. Of course, the 
"mark where she stands " speech was effect- 
ive, for no actor ever failed to thrill an 
audience at this wonderful dramatic climax. 

" Mr. Haworth's Matthias is utterly differ- 
ent from either Irving's or Coquelin's," wrote 
Mildred Aldrich, in a criticism of Mr. Ha- 
worth's performance of " The Bells." " He 
makes him a hard-visaged, morose-looking 



Joseph Haworth. 315 

man, who, even on his return home in the 
first act, looks out of a face on which tor- 
tured conscience has already set its marks. 
From the very opening of the play he is a 
broken man. On this point Mr. Haworth, as 
he plays into the part, will doubtless think 
better. Prosperity, security, a happy family 
have quite wiped out of the life of Matthias 
the Polish Jew, until the mesmerist arouses 
his fears by showing him an unthought-of 
danger, and then, with the resistlessness 
of fate, events — but events that none save 
himself either see or suspect — sweep him 
on to death. Matthias is a bold man. In 
the face of the new crime he carried himself 
with such control that he escaped suspicion. 
When that crime is old and safely buried, 
though conscience, bad dreams, and drink 
might drive him to temporary frenzy and 
apoplexy, he would not become a cringing, 
shivering old man at whom every one would 
have looked askance. Yet such is the 



316 Famous Actors. 

picture that Haworth presents as Matthias. 
It may have its justifications, but even then 
the part is robbed by that treatment of 
variety and attractiveness. 

" Mr. Haworth' s Matthias was theatrically 
effective. He made every point tell with 
force and skill, but it lacked either spiritual 
sweetness or personal attraction. It was, in 
fact, the work of a well-trained actor who 
understands his business of acting better 
than he does the dissection of character. 
This is a point, however, about which the 
popular audience gives itself little trouble, 
showing as great satisfaction with the per- 
sonality of the favourite actor as it would 
have felt for a new and original characterisa- 
tion of Matthias. There is one failing of 
Mr. Haworth' s which may appropriately be 
noted here, because it has appeared in other 
parts, — his failure to carry an emotion past 
a climax. One incident alone — a small one 
— will suffice to illustrate that. His Mat- 



Joseph Haworth. 3 1 7 

thias arrives in his bedchamber quite drunk, 
like his guests, and has to be assisted across 
the room. Yet all trace of that disappears 
the moment he is left alone. Even this may 
be justified. Yet it's best not, because it 
robs the scene of theatrical effectiveness." 

Joseph Haworth was born in Providence, 
Rhode Island, on April 7, 1855, but was 
brought up and educated in Cleveland, Ohio. 
His debut as an actor was made in May, 
1873, at tne Academy of Music in Cleve- 
land, when he played the Duke of Buck- 
ingham to the Richard III. of Charlotte 
Crampton, who gave him an engagement 
in her company, after hearing him recite 
" Shamus O'Brien " at an amateur enter- 
tainment. Miss Crampton' s Richard was 
considered a remarkable performance. She 
had a masculine voice, which helped her to 
establish an illusion, and, as a part of her 
make-up, she wore a small moustache and 
goatee, which gave her face a villainous ex- 



3 1 8 Famous Actors, 

pression. After a year with Miss Crampton, 
Mr. Haworth joined John Ellsler's company 
at the Euclid Avenue Opera House, in Cleve- 
land, as utility man, though, as a matter of 
fact, he was given more important roles. 
For instance, his opening performance was 
Orlando in " As You Like It," to the Rosa- 
lind of Effie Ellsler. Later, during the en- 
gagement of Lawrence Barrett, Mr. Haworth 
acted a small part in "Julius Caesar," and 
received this compliment from Mr. Barrett : 
"Young man, those lines were delivered 
beautifully. Take care of yourself, and you 
will make your mark." 

Mr. Haworth remained with Mr. Ellsler 
four years, playing most of the time in 
Cleveland, though also visiting many of the 
principal Western cities with the company. 
He also appeared for a short time at Augus- 
tin Daly's Fifth Avenue Theatre, and at the 
Eagle Theatre in New York, in support of 
Anna Dickinson, acting Cromwell in "The 



Joseph Haworth. 319 

Crown of Thorns." His last appearance 
under Mr. Ellsler's management was on May 
10, 1877, in Cleveland, when at his farewell 
benefit he played Hamlet for the first time 
to the Ophelia of Effie Ellsler. In connec- 
tion with this performance, Mr. Haworth 
relates the following incident : 

" I got along nicely enough until the closet 
scene. I had just finished the lines 'look 
upon this picture/ when I looked across the 
stage, and there stood Charlotte Crampton 
in her Richard III. costume, glaring at me 
in exactly the same manner as she glared at 
me on the night of my debut. Why, the 
woman had been dead a year ! I stood trans- 
fixed with horror, and my tongue cleaved to 
the roof of my mouth. The audience thought 
it was acting, and gave me round after round 
of applause. As I looked, the apparition, or 
whatever you want to call it, vanished slowly, 
and for a moment I closed my eyes. When 
I looked again, the demon-like figure had 



320 Famous Actors. 

gone. I was stuck in my lines, and I don't 
know how I recovered them again ; but I 
did go through the part mechanically until 
the end. I was called before the curtain 
again and again at the close. I am not a 
spiritualist, and I cannot account for that 
horrible experience. Call it an optical illu- 
sion or anything you will, I shall never for- 
get it. Miss Crampton was buried in a little 
Catholic burying-ground in Louisville. I re- 
member when I was playing there I visited 
her grave. A small stone marks her last 
resting-place." 

The next season Mr. Haworth supported 
Edwin Booth, and the four years following 
that he was a member of the Boston Museum 
stock company, making his first appearance 
at that house on September 7, 1878, as 
Count Henri de Beausoleil in " Satan in 
Paris." After leaving the Museum, Mr. 
Haworth supported John McCullough for 
several seasons, and he was with the trage- 



Joseph Haworth. 321 

dian at the time of his last appearance, 
which occurred at McVicker's Theatre, Chi- 
cago. Mr. Haworth's account of this unfor- 
tunate affair is as follows : 

" For a long time signs of breaking down 
were noticeable, and on that last perform- 
ance in Chicago we all saw that the poor 
Guv'nor would not last much longer. The 
play was 'The Gladiator,' with McCullough 
as Spartacus. I played Pharsarius. When 
the brothers met in the arena, he seemed to 
forget his lines, and he became confused. 
He placed both his hands on my shoulders, 
and trembled, as he said, ' What next, Joe, 
what next ? ' I gave him the cue, and we 
finished. After the act we received two 
recalls where we generally got six or seven. 
He said, ' My boy, they seem to like it to- 
night ; it's going fine.' He slipped up on 
the lines several times after this act, and 
once he accused me of reading his lines. 
The last act came, and those who heard the 



322 Famous Actors. 

words of the boy attending him can never 
forget how they sounded : < General, you 
had best go to your tent ; you are unfit for 
battle.' He was called before the curtain 
at the close, the audience seeming to under- 
stand that something was wrong. There 
were loud calls for a speech, and he spoke 
a few words. They were the last spoken in 
public. He said : 

" ' If you had suffered as I have to-night, 
you would not have done this. Good night.' ' 

"The company was disbanded the next 
morning, and it assembled at the theatre 
on business. The Guv'nor came in, and, 
meeting me in the lobby, said, ' The show 
did not go very well last night, and the 
papers cut me up a bit this morning.' 
'Never mind that,' I replied, 'you need not 
care for what is said.' I asked him if there 
was to be a rehearsal, and he answered yes. 
Knowing his condition, the company con- 
sented just to humour him. The first play 



Joseph Haworth. 323 

to be rehearsed was 'The Gladiator.' He 
was perfect in every line, and he had the 
entire company in tears during parts of his 
delivery. When he said to me, in giving 
me charge of his wife and family, 'Pharsa- 
rius, I give thee more than my life, guard 
them well,' there seemed to be more mean- 
ing to the lines than I ever heard before. 
It was with genuine sorrow that Mrs. Fos- 
ter, the wife, replied, ' Husband, husband, do 
not send me away ; if I leave thee now it 
will be for ever.' There was not a member 
of the company that did not feel the deep 
meaning of this line, and even the strongest 
man in the company, Harry Langdon, was 
sobbing like a child. McCullough did not 
seem to mind what was going on about 
him. When Spartacus died, after the lines, 
'There are green valleys in Thrace,' his 
head dropped listlessly, as though he was 
dead in reality. 

" When ' The Gladiator ' was finished, he 



324 Famous Actors. 

called for a rehearsal of ' Richelieu,' and of 
course his order was obeyed. He went 
through the play in the same perfect man- 
ner that characterised 'The Gladiator.' He 
delivered the curse in a magnificent manner, 
and, at its conclusion, the entire company 
joined in loud and heartfelt applause. When 
Baradas recited the line, ' His mind and life 
are breaking fast,' the Guv'nor turned to 
denounce him. As he did so, he broke 
down completely, and was taken away to 
the hotel. It was with feelings of sad- 
ness that the company left the theatre that 
day. We all felt that we had bid a long 
good-bye to poor John McCullough, and that 
we would never see him again on this earth. 
I cannot add anything to the tributes that 
have been paid to the memory of McCul- 
lough. He was a dear, good friend, a whole- 
souled man, loved by his friends, and his 
enemies — well, his kindly, genial nature 
was proof against them." 



Joseph Haworth. 325 

The season following McCullough's col- 
lapse, Mr. Haworth became a star in popu- 
lar drama, presenting " Hoodman Blind," 
"The Bells," " Ruy Bias," "The Leaven- 
worth Case," and "Paul Kauvar." He ap- 
peared in "The Crust of Society," and last 
season he was successful as John Storm in 
" The Christian." 



CHAPTER XXV. 

HERBERT KELCEY. 

Herbert Kelcey won his spurs in the 
frock coat, kid glove era of the New York 
Lyceum Theatre. He was one of the origi- 
nal members of Daniel Frohman's company, 
and he remained with the organisation until 
1896, when he was succeeded by James K. 
Hackett. His first appearance with the 
Lyceum Company was in October, 1887, as 
John Rutherford in "The Wife," which part 
he created. 

In the fall of 1896, Mr. Kelcey appeared 
with Mrs. Leslie Carter in "The Heart of 
Maryland." When Clyde Fitch's play, " The 
Moth and the Flame," was produced in New 
York, Mr. Kelcey took the part of the vil- 
326 




HERBERT KELCEY. 



Herbert Kelcey. 327 

lain, Edward Fletcher, an entirely new line 
of work for him, and he made a decided 
success. His acting from first to last was 
conspicuously good. His style had not pre- 
viously greatly impressed me, and the skill 
with which he presented the complex emo- 
tions that moved Fletcher during the last 
act of "The Moth and the Flame" there- 
fore surprised me. He laid bare Fletcher's 
soul in all its horrible baseness. Yet so 
human was he withal, so carefully did he 
indicate the hysterical frenzy under which 
the man laboured, so forcibly did he empha- 
sise the fundamental fact that Fletcher 
loved, — selfishly, it is true, but with con- 
quering passion, nevertheless, — that he suc- 
ceeded in not wholly divorcing the spectators' 
sympathy. When he left the stage, one 
could not help pitying to a degree the man, 
rascal though he was, who had fought so 
hard, who had risked all, and lost all This 
pity was Mr. Kelcey's great triumph. 



328 Famous Actors. 

Clyde Fitch's plays always seem to fall 
short of what one expects of them. His 
" Beau Brummel," as given by Richard 
Mansfield, was as good as anything that he 
ever did, though I doubt if that play would 
stand the test of poor acting. Mr. Fitch's 
most ambitious play was "Nathan Hale," 
but this was not an artistic drama. It was 
saved from failure by the actors and its own 
interesting subject. In "The Moth and the 
Flame " Mr. Fitch aimed to produce a mod- 
ern drama of serious interest. His theme 
was a familiar social condition, and his set- 
ting was society life in New York City. It 
is well to say at once that Mr. Fitch unques- 
tionably made an effective acting play, and 
his sharp-witted puppets, moving in an envi- 
ronment of glittering superficialities, and en- 
livened by the art and magnetic personalities 
of competent actors, seemed for the moment 
to reflect truth and to touch human nature. 

As a matter of fact, however, "The Moth 



Herbert Kelcey. 329 

and the Flame " did not develop a single 
character. A striking example of Mr. Fitch's 
failure to conceive his characters as person- 
ages was seen in Mrs. Lorrimer, the doubly 
divorced. For two acts the author beguiled 
us into believing her the most frivolous and 
insincere of women, and when he had this 
notion firmly fixed, he astonished and bewil- 
dered us by giving her a heart. Even the 
two chief characters in the play, the only 
ones, in fact, that were vital to the action, 
Marion Wolton and Edward Fletcher, were 
without individuality or temperamental force. 
They were interesting only because of the 
experiences they had. 

The motif of " The Moth and the Flame," 
the love of a good woman for a man who is a 
moral degenerate, is as old as civilisation, but 
it is a subject, nevertheless, that has an abid- 
ing interest. For the purpose, probably, of 
heightening the dramatic effect, Mr. Fitch 
exaggerated his conditions until they * ap- 



330 Famous Actors. 

proached improbability. Fletcher was a fas- 
cinating enough villain, and he might easily 
have turned the head of an inexperienced 
schoolgirl. But Marion Wolton was many 
degrees removed from the schoolgirl. She 
was a serious-minded woman of the world, 
whose life had been passed amid the petty 
jealousies and scandalous gossipings of an 
idle and useless social circle. She had no 
romantic notions. That a man like Fletcher, 
with whose misdoings she was in a general 
way acquainted, could have wormed himself 
into her affections, was hard to believe. 
That she would have clung to him even after 
she knew that another woman claimed to be 
his wife, was a greater task on one's credu- 
lity. Yet to make possible the theatrical 
church scene, she must cling, and cling she 
did. 

Mr. Fitch's work was meagre in closely 
connected incident. It had three big scenes, 
which in themselves were uncommonly strong, 



Herbert Kelcey. 331 

but the remainder of the play was made up 
of bright speeches and preparations for the 
climaxes. In the church scene, for instance, 
the real dramatic interest did not come until 
a few minutes before the curtain fell. The 
first part of the act was mere padding, clever 
in its way and entertaining, but padding for 
all that. Logically, the drama ended with 
Marion's renunciation of Fletcher at the al- 
tar after she had seen him strike the woman 
who was asking for justice for herself and 
her child. But the last act, which was purely 
episodical as far as the main theme was 
concerned, was the most interesting of the 
three. For one thing, it gave Mr. Kelcey a 
chance to do some very effective acting, and 
it was in this act also that one made the sur- 
prising discovery of Mrs. Lorrimer's heart. 
The ending of the play, however, which placed 
Marion in the position of a reward of merit 
for the good lover, was only a makeshift. 
Herbert Kelcey' s family name is Lamb, 



332 Famous Actors. 

and he comes of good English stock. He 
was born on October 10, 1855, and as the 
eldest son he was destined for the army. In 
a spirit of adventure rather than with any seri- 
ous purpose to become an actor, he accepted 
a minor position in a provincial company, 
and in 1877 made his debut at Brighton in 
" Flirtation." His success determined him 
to adopt the stage as an avocation. 

Mr. Kelcey's first prominent London en- 
gagement was in " Youth," by Paul Merritt 
and Sir Augustus Harris, when that drama 
was produced at the Drury Lane Theatre 
on August 6, 1 88 1. Mr. Kelcey created the 
role of Captain Lord Loverton. He came to 
this country a year later, and made his first 
appearance on September 9th, at Wallack's 
Theatre in New York, as Philip Radley in 
" Taken from Life." He was the original 
in this country of Count Orloff in " Diplo- 
macy," and the original Spider in "The Sil- 
ver King." 



Herbert Kelcey. 333 

In 1884 Mr. Kelcey was a member of the 
Madison Square Company, in which he played 
such parts as Cheviot Hill in "Engaged," 
Edward War burton in " Old Love Letters," 
and Philip Van Pelt in " Our Society." In the 
fall of 1886 he rejoined Wallack's Company, 
playing Colonel Tressidor in Henry Hamil- 
ton's " Harvest," Lord Juru in " Moths," 
Joseph Surface in the Wallack production of 
"The School for Scandal," Mark Helstone 
in " Harbour Lights," Tom Coke in " Old 
Heads and Young Hearts," and Major Bar- 
ton in " The Dominie's Daughter." His 
next engagement was as leading man of 
Daniel Frohman's Lyceum Company. 



THE END. 



INDEX. 



Abbey, Henry E., 66, 157, 

159- 

"Across the Continent," 
Henry Jewett in. 216. 

Adams, Maude, 201. 

Adams, William T., 259. 

" Adventure of Lady Ur- 
sula," E. H. Sothern in, 
81. 

« After the Ball," E. M. Hol- 
land in, 66. 

"Alabama."' 

Holland, E. M., 63, 67. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 173. 

Aldrich, Mildred, 314. 

Alexander, George, 115. 

" All the Comforts of 
Home," 

Faversham, William, 

106. 
Gillette. William, 187. 

•' Allan Dare," Wilton Lack- 
aye in, 171. 

Allen, C. Leslie, 271. 

" All for Her," J. E. Dodson 
in, 286. 



u Alpine Roses," Richard 
Mansfield in, 53. 

" Ambition," N. C. Good- 
win in, 134. 

" American Citizen," N. C. 
Goodwin in, 134. 

" American Heiress," Wil- 
ton Lackaye in, 173. 

" American King," James 
O'Neill in, 148. 

" American Minister," W. 
H. Crane in, 164. 

" American Money," J. K. 
Hackett in, 208. 

Anderson, Mary, 268. 

" April Weather," Sol Smith 
Russell in, 259. 

" Arabian Girl," Roland 
Reed in, 309. 

"Arabian Nights," J. K. 
Hackett in, 208. 

" Aristocracy," 

Faversham, William, 

107. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 173. 

'• Arms and the Man," 



335 



33^ 



Index. 



Jewett, Henry, 220. 
Mansfield, Richard, 56. 
" Around the World in 
Eighty Days," William 
Gillette in, 182. 
" Arrah-na-Pogue," 

Jewett, Henry, 215, 218. 
MacDowell, Melbourne, 

242. 
Mantell, R. B., 291. 
"Art and Nature," N. C. 

Goodwin in, 134. 
Arthur, Julia, 207. 
" As You Like It," 
Drew, John, 91. 
Hackett, J. K., 206. 
Haworth, Joseph, 318. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 171. 
MacDowell, Melbourne, 

240. 
Miller, Henry, 192. 
Skinner, Otis, 274. 
"Aunt Jack," E. M. Hol- 
land in, 63, 67. 

" Bachelor's Romance," Sol 

Smith Russell in, 259. 
Barnum, P. T., 267. 
Barrett, Lawrence, 28, 72, 

169,171,254,268,271,318. 
Barron, Charles, 113, 114, 

242, 244. 
Barry, S., 228. 

Barrymore, Maurice, 91, 187. 
" Bauble Shop," 

Dodson, J. E., 287. 
Drew, John, 92. 
" Beau Brummel," Richard 

Mansfield in, 55. 
" Because She Loved Him 

So," 



Dodson, J. E., 279. 
Gillette, William, 174, 
188. 
Beecher, Henry Ward, 178. 
"Belle's Stratagem," Henry 

Jewett in, 220. 
Bellew, Kyrle, 209. 
" Bells," Joseph Haworth in, 

311,314,325. 
" Bells of Haslemere," John 

B. Mason in, 114. 
" Benedict Arnold," Henry 

Jewett in, 221, 222. 
" Benefit of the Doubt," Wil- 
liam Faversham in, 107. 
Berger Family, Sol Smith 

Russell with, 256. 
"Betsy Baker," John Drew 

in, 89. 
" Bewitched," Sol Smith 

Russell in, 258. 
" Big Bonanza," John Drew 

in, 90. 
" Bitter Cold," Henry Jewett 

in, 215. 
"Black and White," J. E. 

Dodson in, 284. 
" Black Diamond Engineer," 

Melbourne MacDowell in, 

245- 
" Black-Eyed Susan," 
Drew, John, 89. 
Gillette, William, 182. 
Goodwin, N. C, 130. 
" Black Flag," N. C. Good- 
win in, 132. 
"Blanche Horlock," Wil- 
liam Faversham in, 101. 
" Bohemia," 

Faversham, William, 
107. 



Index. 



337 



Miller, Henry, 195. 
" Bookmaker," N. C. Good- 
win in, 134. 
Booth; Edwin, 28, 90, 96, 

143, 228, 270, 272, 320. 
Booth, John Wilkes, 228, 

303. 
« Bootle's Baby," Wilton 

Lackaye in, 172. 
Boston Museum, 32, 54, 72, 

96, no, in, 113, 128, 130, 

131, 242, 258, 320. 
Boucicault, Aubrey, 219. 
Boucicault, Dion, 66, 292. 
" Boulangere," Richard 

Mansfield in, 52. 
Bowers, Mrs., 207. 
" Bridal Trip," Roland Reed 

in, 310. 
"Broken Hearts," William 

Gillette in, 183. 
" Broken Seal," J. K. Hack- 

ett in, 207. 
"Brother John," W. H. 

Crane in, 164. 
Brorgham, John, 130. 
Bro me, Boston, 281. 
Bu hanan, James, 284. 
" Butterflies," John Drew 

in, 92. 
Byron, Arthur, 219. 
Byron, Oliver Doud, 206. 

Cameron, Beatrice, 55. 

" Camille," Otis Skinner in, 

274. 
Campbell, Bartley, 155. 
" Canuck," Wilton Lackaye 

in, 172. 
" Caprice," William Faver- 

sham in, 106. 



" Captain Lettarblair," E. H. 

Sothern in, 80. 
"Captain of the Watch," 

John Drew in, 89. 
" Captain Swift," 

Holland, E. M., 6^, 67. 
Jewett, Henry, 222. 
" Coriolanus," Otis Skinner 

in, 269. 
Carte, D'Oyly, 49, 52. 
Carter, Mrs. Leslie, 326. 
Cartlitch, John G., 230. 
" Caste," E. M. Holland in, 

65. 
" Castle Sombras," Richard 

Mansfield in, 56. 
Cavendish, Ada, 192. 
Cecil, Arthur, 279. 
" Celebrated Case," 

O'Neill, James, 145. 

Reed, Roland, 309. 

"Change Alley," E. H. 

Sothern in, 81. 
" Charles O'Malley," Wilton 

Lackaye in, 173. 
"Cheek," Roland Reed in, 

309- 
" Chevalier de Vaudry," 

Henry Jewett in, 218. 
" Child of the Regiment," 

William Gillette in, 182. 
" Christian," 

Haworth, Joseph, 325. 
Jewett, Henry, 211, 222. 
Mason, John B., no, 
116. 
" Christopher, Jr.," John 

Drew in, 92. 
"Cinderella at School," N. 

C. Goodwin in, 131. 
Clarke, Annie, 113, 242. 



338 



Index. 



Clarke, Creston, 275. 

Clarke, George, 291. 

Clarke, John Sleeper, 228, 
230. 

Clayton, Estelle, 78. 

"Cleopatra" (Sardou's), Mel- 
bourne MacDowell in, 238, 

239- 
" Club Friend," Roland 

Reed in, 310. 
Coghlan, Rose, 169, 172, 

220. 
" Colleen Bawn," Henry 

Jewettin, 218. 
" Colonel Carter of Carters- 

ville," E. M. Holland in, 

67. 
" Colonel Tom," 

Goodwin, N. C, 134. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 172. 
" Colonial Girl," E. H. Soth- 

ern in, 81. 
" Comedy of Errors," 

Crane, W. H., 163, 233, 

234- 
Robson, Stuart, 163, 
233, 234, 237. 
"Confusion," N. C. Good- 
win in, 133. 
" C onquerors," William 

Faversham in, 97. 
" Cool as a Cucumber," John 

Drew in, 89. 
Coquelin, 314. 
Corcoran, Katherine, 28. 
" Corsair," N. C. Goodwin in, 

I3i- 
" Corsican Brothers," 

Jewett, Henry, 218. 

Mantell, R. B., 294. 
Couldock, C. W., 190. 



"Councillor's Wife," Wil- 
liam Faversham in, 107. 

" Country Girl," John Drew 
in, 91. 

" Courtship of Leonie," J. 
K. Hackett in, 209. 

" Cowboy and the Lady," N. 
C. Goodwin in, 134. 

Craig, Robert, 302, 304. 

Crampton, Charlotte, 317, 
320. 

Crane, William H., 131, 145, 
149, 233. 

" Cricket on the Hearth," 
Joseph Jefferson in, 14, 15. 

" Crown of Thorns," 

Gillette, William, 182. 
Haworth, Joseph, 319. 

" Crust of Society," Joseph 
Haworth in, 325. 

Cushman, Charlotte, 142. 

" Cymbeline," 

Jewett, Henry, 217. 
Miller, Henry, 192. 

" Cyrano de Bergerac," Rich- 
ard Mansfield in, 36, 39, 56. 

" Dakolar," R. B. Mantell in, 
294. 

Daly, Augustin, 84, 90, 91, 
172, 192, 202, 208, 237, 
256, 257, 271, 291, 308, 

309, 3 l & 
" Dancing Girl," 

Lackaye, Wilton, 173. 
Sothern, E. H., 80. 
" Danicheffs," James O'Neill 

in, 145. 
" Danites," 

Holland, E. M., 66. 
Jewett, Henry, 215. 



Index. 



339 



Darrell, George, 216. 

" Daughter of the Regiment," 

W. H. Crane in, 152. 
Dauvray, Helen, 78. 
Davenport, E. L., 28, 65, 

308. 
Davenport, Fanny, 91, 171, 
216, 222, 238, 247, 288, 
290, 293, 294, 304. 
Davenport, May, 113. 
" David Garrick," 

Goodwin, N. C., 134. 
Sothern, E. H., 75. 
" Day after the Fair," E. M. 

Holland in, 64. 
" Deacon Crankett," James 

O'Neill in, 148. 
" Dead Heart," 

Lackaye, Wilton, 172. 
O'Neill, James, 137. 
" Dead Shot," W. H. Crane 

in, 154. 
DeBar, Ben, 181. 
DeGray, Marie, 99, 293. 
Denning, Susan, 27. 
" Devil's Disciple," Richard 

Mansfield in, 56. 
Dickinson, Anna, 318. 
Dick Swiveller, 

Crane, W. H., 157. 
Fa versham, William, 102. 
"Dinner at Eight," E. M. 

Holland in, 67. 
" Diplomacy," 

Drew, John, 91. 
Jewett, Henry, 217, 220. 
Kelcey, Herbert, 332. 
" Disciple," J. E. Dodson in, 

286. 
" District Attorney," Wilton 
Lackaye in, 1 73. 



" Divorce," W. H. Crane in, 
156. 

Dixey, Henry E., 131. 

Dodson, J. E., 278. 

" Dollars and Sense," John 
Drew in, 92. 

" Dool's House," William 
Fa versham in, 106. 

" Domestic Earthquakes," E. 
H. Sothern in, 77. 

" Dominie's Daughter," Her- 
bert Kelcey in, 333. 

" Don Carlos de Seville," 148. 

" Don Juan," Richard Mans- 
field in, 56. 

" Dr. Belgraff ," Wilton Lack- 
aye in, 173. 

" Dr. Bill," Wilton Lackaye 
in, 173- 

Drew, John, 84, 192, 193. 

Drew, John, Sr., 89, 230. 

Drew, Mrs. John, 89, 230, 
297, 304. 

" Drifting Apart," James A. 
Heme in, 30. 

"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," 
Richard Mansfield in, 54. 

Dr. Pangloss, " Heir-at-law," 
Joseph Jefferson as, 13, 15, 
16. 

Duff, James, 256. 

" Duke's Motto," Melbourne 
MacDowell in, 244. 

Durbin, Maud, 276. 

" Edgewood Folks," Sol 
Smith Russell in, 257. 

"Editha's Burglar," E. H. 
Sothern in, 79. 

" Elaine," E. M. Holland in, 
67. 



340 



Index. 



Elliott, Arthur, 216. 
Elliott, Maxine, 135. 
Elliston, Maude, 102. 
Ellsler, Effie, 318, 319. 
Ellsler, John, 141, 308, 318, 

3i9- 

Emmett, J. K., 282, 283. 

Empire Theatre, 94, 107, 194. 

" Enchantment," Otis Skin- 
ner in, 270. 

" Enemy to the King," E. H. 
Sothern in, 81. 

" Engaged," Herbert Kelcey 
in, 333. 

" Envoy," James O'Neill in, 

137- 
" Esmeralda," 

Gillette, William, 185. 

Holland, E. M., 67. 
" Evangeline," 

Crane, W. H., 155, 159. 

Goodwin, N. C., 130. 

" Face in the Moonlight," R. 

B. Mantell in, 294. 
" Faint Heart Never Won 

Fair Lady," William Gil- 
lette in, 182. 
"Faust" (opera), W. H. 

Crane in, 154. 
" Faust " (play), Henry 

Jewett in, 218. 
Faversham, William, 94. 
" Favette," E. H. Sothern 

in, 78. 
" Favourite," Henry Jewett 

in, 219. 
" Featherbrain," 

Faversham, William, 

106. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 172. 



Fechter, Charles, 138, 284, 

3°4- 
" Fedora," 

Lackaye, Wilton, 171. 
MacDowell, Melbourne, 

238. 
Mantell, R. B., 288, 289, 
294. 
" Felix McKusick," Sol 

Smith Russell in, 258. 
Ferguson, W. J., 102. 
" Firefly," Roland Reed in, 

302. 
"First Gentleman of 
Europe," J. K. Hackett 
in, 210. 
" First Violin," Richard 

Mansfield in, 56. 
Fiske, Minnie Maddern, 54, 

106, 172, 193. 
"Flirtation," Herbert Kel- 
cey in, 332. 
Florence, William, 15. 
" Flower Girl of Paris," W. 

H. Crane in, 155. 
" Fontenelle," James O'Neill 

in, 137- 
Forbes, Charles, 245. 
" Forbidden Fruit," 

Crane, W. H, 163. 
Mantell, R. B., 292. 
Robson, Stuart, 163. 
Ford, John T., 141, 230. 
Forrest, Edwin, 139, 141. 
"Foundling," E. M. Hol- 
land in, 68. 
"Fra Diavolo," W. H. 

Crane in, 155. 
" Francesca da Rimini," 
Lackaye, Wilton, 171. 
Skinner, Otis, 271. 



Index. 



341 



" Frederic Lemaitre,"Henry 

Miller in, 194. 
" French Flats," 

Holland, E. M., 66. 
Mansfield, Richard, 53. 
"Friend Fritz," John B. 

Mason in, 116. 
"Fritz," J. E. Dodson in, 

282. 
Frohman, Charles, 59, 78, 

94, 194, 286. 
Frohman, Daniel, 58, 66, 

67, 78, 103, 193, 209, 294, 

326, 333. 
Fuller, Loie, 132. 
Fyles, Franklyn, 195. 

" Gasparone," Richard Mans- 
field in, 53. 

Gilbert, John, 65. 

Gilbert, W. S., 51. 

" Gilded Age," William Gil- 
lette in, 182. 

" Gilded Fool," N. C. Good- 
win in, 134. 

Gillette, Hon. Francis, 178. 

Gillette, William, 174. 

" Gladiator," Joseph Ha- 
worth in, 321. 

Golden, Richard, 131. 

" Gold Mine," N. C. Good- 
win in, 121, 132,134. 

Goodwin, N. C., 114, 119. 

" Governor of Kentucky," 
W. H. Crane in, 164. 

" Great Unknown," Wilton 
Lackaye in, 172. 

" Griffith Davenport," James 
A. Heme in, 18. 

" Gudgeons," Henry Miller 
in, 195. 



" Guv'nor," John B. Mason 

in, 114. 
" Guy Mannering," William 

Gillette in, 182. 

Hackett, James H., 205. 
Hackett, James K., 200, 

326. 
Hackett, Mrs. Clara C, 206. 
" Hamlet," 

Drew, John, 90. 

Faversham, William, 
101. 

Gillette, William, 182. 

Goodwin, N. C, 133. 

Haworth, Joseph, 311, 

3 X 9- 
Mantell, R. B., 291, 294. 
Miller, Henry, 199. 
O'Neill, James, 138. 
Reed, Roland, 309. 
Skinner, Otis, 271, 272, 

275- 
" Hands Across the Sea," 

John B. Mason in, 115. 
Hann, T. R., 305. 
Hapgood, Norman, 107. 
" Harbour Lights," Herbert 

Kelcey in, 333. 
Hare, John, 286. 
Harned, Virginia, 83. 
Harris, Augustus, 281. 
Harrison, Maude, 162. 
" Harvest," Herbert Kelcey 

in, 333. 
Hastings, Frances, 218. 
Hastings, Helen, 102. 
Haworth, Joseph, 211, 311. 
Hawthorne, Grace, 145. 
" Hazel Kirke," 

Holland, E. M., 66. 



342 



Index. 



MacDowell, Melbourne, 

245- 
Mason, John B., 115. 
" Head of the Family," W. 

H. Crane in, 164. 
" Heart and Hands," J. K. 

Hackett in, 208. 
" Heart of Hearts," E. M. 

Holland in, 67. 
" Heart of Maryland," Her- 
bert Kelcey in, 326. 
" Hearts of Oak," James A. 

Heme in, 30. 
"Hearts of Steel," Otis 

Skinner in, 270. 
" Heartsease," Henry Miller 

in, 195. 
" Heir-at-Law," 

Jefferson, Joseph, 13, 

15, 16. 
Reed, Roland, 309. 
Russell, Sol Smith, 259. 
" Held by the Enemy," Wil- 
liam Gillette in, 174, 186, 
188. 
Henley, E. J., 219. 
" Henrietta," 

Crane, W. H., 163, 233, 

235- 
Robson, Stuart, 163, 

2 33> 235. 
Heme, James A., 18. 
" Hidden Hand," Sol Smith 

Russell in, 253. 
" Highest Bidder," 

Faversham, William, 

103. 
Sothern, E. H., 79. 
Hill, Barton, 156. 
" His Father's Boy," Roland 
Reed in, 310. 



" His Grace de Grammont," 

Otis Skinner in, 274. 
" His Honour the Mayor," 

W. H. Crane in, 164. 
" Hobbies," N. C. Goodwin 

in, 131, 132. 
Holland, E. M., 58. 
Holland, George, 63. 
Holland, Joseph, 58, 62, 

68. 
" Home," J. E. Dodson in, 

286. 
" Home from School," N. C. 

Goodwin in, 130. 
" Home Secretary," J. K. 

Hackett in, 209. 
"Hon. John Grigsby," Sol 

Smith Russell in, 259. 
" Hoodman Blind," Joseph 

Haworth in, 325. 
Howard, Bronson, 235, 236. 
" Human Nature," Henry 

Jewett in, 217. 
" Humbug," Roland Reed 

in, 309. 
" Hunchback," 

Drew, John, 90. 
Gillette, William, 182. 
Goodwin, N. C, 133. 
Jewett, Henry, 220. 

" Idler," John B. Mason in, 

"5- 

" If I Were You," John B. 
Mason in, 116. 

" Inconstant," John Drew in, 
116. 

" Ingomar," Henry Jewett 
in, 220. 

" In Mizzoura," N. C. Good- 
win in, 134. 



Index. 



343 



" Innocent as a Lamb," Ro- 
land Reed in, 310. 

« In Spite of All," 

Faversham, William, 

106. 
Mansfield, Richard, 54. 

" Invisible Prince," W. H. 
Crane in, 154. 

" Iolanthe," Richard Mans- 
field in, 52. 

" Iron Mask," Melbourne 
MacDowell in, 245. 

"Iron Master," J. E. Dod- 
son in, 286. 

Irving, Sir Henry, 36, 54, 

137, 190, 3 J 4- 
" Is Marriage a Failure," 

Stuart Robson in, 236. 
" It's Never too Late to 

Mend," J. E. Dodson in, 

284. 
"It Was a Dream," J. E. 

Dodson in, 286. 

Jack, John, 219. 

" Jack and Gill," J. E. Dod- 
son in, 282. 

James, Louis, 268, 304. 

Janauschek, Madame, 268. 

Jefferson, Cornelia, 231. 

Jefferson, Joseph, 11, 64, 79, 
89, 150, 249, 276, 282, 283. 

Jenyns, Essie, 217. 

Jewett, Henry, 211. 

Jim Crow, Joseph Jefferson 
as, 13. 

"Jim the Penman," 

Holland, E. M., 63, 67. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 173. 

" Joan of Arc," Henry Jew- 
ett in, 222. 



" Jocelyn," Wilton Lackaye 

in, 169. 
" John-a-Dreams," 

Dodson, J. E., 287. 
Faversham, William, 
107. 
" John Wopps, Policeman," 

Stuart Robson in, 231. 
" Joseph's Sweetheart," John 

B. Mason in, 114. 
" Julius Caesar," 

Goodwin, N. C, 133. 
Haworth, Joseph, 318. 
Jewett, Henry, 218, 222. 
O'Neill, James, 143. 
Skinner, Otis, 271. 

"Kate Kearney," W. H. 
Crane in, 154. 

" Katherine and Petruchio," 
William Gillette in, 182. 

" Katherine Kavanagh," J. 
E. Dodson in, 286. 

Keene, Laura, 254. 

Keene, Thomas W, 156. 

Kelcey, Herbert, 209, 326. 

Kendal, Mr. and Mrs., 278, 
283, 285. 

" Kenilworth," R. B. Man- 
tell in, 293. 

" Kerry Gow," Melbourne 
MacDowell in, 245. 

Kidder, Kathryn, 209. 

" King Carrott," Stuart 
Robson in, 232. 

Kingdon, Edith, 271. 

" King of Peru," 

Jewett, Henry, 220. 
Mansfield, Richard, 56. 

" King's Jester," Otis Skin- 
ner in, 274. 



344 



Index. 



" King Turko," William Gil- 
lette in, 182. 

"King's Musketeer," E. H. 
Sothern in, 82. 

" Kleptomania," J. E. Dod- 
son in, 282. 

Knight, George, 292. 

Kraighne, Ella, 156. 

Lackaye, Wilton, 166. 

" Ladies' Battle," J. E. Dod- 

son in, 286. 
" Lady Gladys," J. K. Hack- 

ett in, 208. 
" Lady of Lyons," 

Dodson, J. E., 281. 
Drew, John, 89, 90. 
Faversham, William, 

101. 
Mantell, R. B., 294. 
Sothern, E. H., 81. 
" Lady Windermere's Fan," 
Holland, E. M., 68. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 173. 
"Last Word," John Drew 

in, 92. 
"Late Mr. Costello," J. K. 

Hackett in, 210. 
" La Tosca," Melbourne 

MacDowell in, 238, 247. 
" Laughing Hyena," John 

Drew in, 89. 
" Law in New York," 

Goodwin, N. C., 119, 

129. 
Robson, Stuart, 232. 
Leake, W. H., 215. 
" Leavenworth Case," Jo- 
seph Haworth in, 325. 
LeClerq, Charlotte, 101. 
" Led Astray," 



Crane, W. H., 156. 
Robson, Stuart, 233. 
Lee, Jennie, 219. 
" L'Elisir d'Amore," W. H. 

Crane in, 155. 
"Lend Me Five Shillings," 

N. C. Goodwin in, 134. 
" Lend Me Your Wife," Ro- 
land Reed in, 310. 
" Lesbia," Richard Mans- 
field in, 55. 
Leslie, Elsie, 79, 106. 
" Lesson in Acting," R. B. 

Mantell, 294. 
Lewis, James, 90, 192, 257, 

308. 
" Liberty Hall," Henry Mil- 
ler in, 195. 
" Liars," 

Drew, John, 92, 93. 

Miller, Henry, 199. 

" Lights o' London," Henry 

Jewett in, 216, 217, 218. 
" Little Jack Shepard," N. 

C. Goodwin in, 132. 
" Little Rebel," N. C. Good- 
win in, 130. 
"Limerick Boy," W. H. 

Crane in, 154. 
" Loan of a Lover," William 

Faversham in, 101. 
" London Assurance," 
Crane, W. H., 156. 
Drew, John, 89. 
" Lord and Lady Algy," 

Faversham, William, 

107. 
Miller, Henry, 199. 
"Lord Chumley," E. H. 

Sothern in, 79. 
Lotta, 207, 302. 



Index. 



345 



" Lottery of Love," John 
Drew in, 92. 

" Louisianian," R. B. Man- 
tell, 294. 

" Love Chase," 

Jewett, Henry, 220. 
Sothern, E. H., 78. 

" Love in Tandem," John 
Drew in, 92. 

"Love's Labours Lost," 
John Drew in, 91. 

" Lucretia Borgia," Roland 
Reed in, 305. 

Lyceum Theatre, 193, 202, 
209, 271, 294, 326, 333. 

"Lyons Mail," Henry Jew- 
ett in, 222. 

" Macbeth," 

Gillette, William, 182. 
Miller, Henry, 191. 
O'Neill, James, 142. 
Skinner, Otis, 268, 272, 
274. 
MacDowell, E. A., 239, 

242. 
MacDowell, Melbourne, 216, 

238. 
" Madame Sans-Gene," J. K. 

Hackett in, 209. 
Maddern, Minnie (see Min- 
nie Maddern Fiske). 
Madison Square Theatre, 

58, 67, 185, 192, 333. 
Maeder, Clara Fisher, 304. 
"Magda," Otis Skinner in, 

274. 
" Magistrate," J. E. Dodson 

in, 279. 
Maguinness, Dan, 271. 
Maier, Joseph, 113. 



" Maister of Woodbarrow," 

E. H. Sothern in, 80. 
Malone, John, 222. 
Mannering, Mary, 210. 
"Man with a Past," E. M. 

Holland in, 68. 
Manola, Marion, 115. 
Mansfield, Richard, 36, 220, 

222. 
" Manteaux Noirs," Richard 

Mansfield in, 52. 
Mantell, Robert B., 191, 

288. 
" Marble Heart," 

Gillette, William, 182. 
Mantell, R. B., 294. 
" Margaret Fleming," James 

A. Heme in, 30. 
" Marie Antoinette," Henry 

Jewett in, 218. 
Marlowe, Julia, 219. 
" Marquise," Henry Miller 

in, 194. 
" Marriage of Convenience," 

John Drew in, 92. 
"Married in Haste," Will- 
iam Gillette in, 182. 
"Married Life," W. H. 

Crane, 1 56. 
Marshall, Wyzeman, 128. 
"Martyr," E. M. Holland 

in, 67. 
" Mary Stuart," 

Jewett, Henry, 218. 

Skinner, Otis, 274. 

" Masked Ball," John Drew 

in, 85, 92. 
"Masks and Faces," Sol 

Smith Russell, 257. 
Mason, John B., 96, no. 
Mason, Lowell, 112. 



346 



Index. 



" Masqueraders," 

Dodson, J. E., 287. 
Faversham, William, 

107. 
Miller, Henry, 195. 

" Master," Henry Miller in, 

195- 
Mather, Margaret, 273. 
Mathews, Charles, 65, 292. 
" Mayblossom," Wilton 

Lackaye in, 171. 
" Mayflower," J. K. Hackett 

in, 171. 
McCullough, John, 72, 73, 
75, 156, 268, 269, 320, 
321. 
McHenery, Nellie, 155. 
McVicker's Theatre, 31, 142, 

145, 169, 308, 321. 
" Measure for Measure," 

Henry Miller in, 192. 
"Meddler," Stuart Robson 

in, 237. 
" Member from Slocum," 

N. C. Goodwin in, 132. 
" Merchant of Venice," 
Lackaye, Wilton, 171. 
Mansfield, Richard, 56. 
Reed, Roland, 309. 
Skinner, Otis, 261, 271, 
272, 274. 
" Merry Wives of Windsor," 
Crane, W. H, 163, 233, 

234- 
Drew, John, 91. 
Jewett, Henry, 222. 
Robson, Stuart, 163, 
233, 234. 
Mestayer, W. A., 156. 
"Met by Chance," E. H. 
Sothern in, yS. 



" Michael and His Lost An- 
gel," Henry Miller in, 

195- 
"Midsummer Night's 
Dream," 

Drew, John, 91. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 169. 
" Mikado," 

Mansfield, Richard, 54. 
Reed, Roland, 310. 
Miller, Henry, 107, 190. 
Millward, Jessie, 172. 
Miln, George C, 221. 
Milton, E., E. M. Holland 

known as, 65. 
" Minute Man," James A. 

Heme in, 30. 
" Miron," R. B. Mantell in, 

293- 
Mitchell, Madame, 128. 
Mitchell, Maggie, 254. 
" Mixed Pickles," J. K. 

Hackett in, 208. 
Modjeska, Helena, 191, 

272, 274, 275, 292. 
"Mona," E. H. Sothern in, 

78. 
"Monbars," R. B. Mantell 

in, 294. 
" Money," 

Mason, John B., 115. 
Reed, Roland, 309. 
" Money Mad," Wilton 

Lackaye in, 172. 
" Money Spinner," 

Dodson, J. E., 286. 
Jewett, Henry, 217. 
" Monsieur," Richard Mans- 
field in, 54. 
" Monte Cristo," James 

O'Neill in, 136, 138. 



Index. 



347 



Morgan, Edward J., 199, 210. 
Morris, Felix, 194. 
"Moth and the Flame," 
Herbert Kelcey in, 326. 
" Mother - in - Law," E. M. 

Holland in, 66. 
« Moths," 

Faversham, William, 

101. 
Kelcey, Herbert, 333. 
Mounet- Sully, 37. 
" Mr. Wilkinson's Widows," 
Gillette, William, 187. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 173. 
" Much Ado about Noth- 
ing," 

Jewett, Henry, 220. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 171. 
Mantell, R. B., 293. 
Murdoch, Harry, 183. 
Murdoch, James E., 256. 
Murphy, Joseph, 245. 
"Musketeer s," James 

O'Neill in, 138. 
"My Jack," Wilton Lack- 
aye in, 172. 
" My Partner," Henry Jew- 
ett in, 218. 
" My Precious Betsy," Will- 
iam Gillette in, 182. 
"My Uncle's Will," Henry 
Jewett in, 219. 

" Naked Truth," Henry 

Jewett in, 216. 
" Nancy & Co." 

Drew, John, 92. 
Jewett, Henry, 219. 
"Nathan Hale," N. C. 

Goodwin in, 122, 134. 
Neilson, Adelaide, 192, 240. 



" Nero," Wilton Lackaye in, 

172. 
Nethersole, Olga, 68. 
" New Blood," 

Holland, E. M., 68. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 173. 
" New Way to Pay Old 
Debts," E. M. Holland in, 

65. 
" New Women," 

Holland, E. M., 68. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 173. 
" Night Off," 

Drew, John, 92. 
Jewett, Henry, 219. 
" Ninety Days," William 

Gillette in, 187. 
"Nita's First," E. H. 

Sothern in, 78. 
Noah, Rachel, 271. 
Nolan, Barney, 243. 
" Nominee," N. C. Goodwin 
in, 134. 

" Octoroon," 

Jefferson, Joseph, 14. 
Reed, Roland, 305. 
" Odette," Henry Miller in, 

192. 
" Old Heads and Young 
Hearts," 
Kelcey, Herbert, 333. 
Robson, Stuart, 230. 
" Old Love Letters," Her- 
bert Kelcey in, 333. 
" Oliver Twist," James A. 

Heme in, 28. 
" On and Off," E. M. Hol- 
land in, 59, 63. 
"On Probation," W. H. 
Crane in, 164. 



348 



Index. 



" One of Our Girls," E. H. 

Sothern in, 78. 
" One Summer's Day," John 

Drew in, 92. 
O'Neill, James, 136, 155. 
" Othello," 38. 

Gillette, William, 182. 

Hackett, J. K., 206. 

Jewett, Henry, 222. 

Mantell, R. B., 293, 294. 

O'Neill, James, 143. 
" Our American Cousin," 

Jefferson, Joseph, 14. 

Sothern, E. H., 75. 
"Our Bachelors," 

Crane, W. H., 163, 234. 

Robson, Stuart, 163, 

234. 
" Our Boarding House," 

Crane, W. H, 157, 233. 
Robson, Stuart, 157, 
233. 
"Our Boys," John B. Ma- 
son in, 115. 
" Our Society," Herbert 

Kelcey in, 333. 
Owens, John, 228. 
Owen, William F., 222. 

" Pa," Sol Smith Russell 
in, 258. 

" Pair of Spectacles," E. M. 
Holland in, 67. 

Palmer, A. M., 58, 66, 67, 
107, 145, 158, 173, 186, 
192, 202, 207. 

Palmer, Minnie, 130. 

" Parisian Romance," Rich- 
ard Mansfield in, 52. 

" Parrhasius," R. B. Mantell 
in, 294. 



" Partners," E. M. Holland 

in, 67. 
" Passion P lay," James 

O'Neill in, 145. 
Pastor, Tony, 130. 
" Paul and Virginia," R. B. 

Mantell in, 293. 
" Paul Kauvar," 

Haworth, Joseph, 325. 

Lackaye, Wilton, 169, 

172. 

"Peaceful Valley," Sol 

Smith Russell in, 248, 

259- 
Peake Family Bell Ringers, 
Sol Smith Russell with, 

254. 
Pease, Mrs. Nella Baker, 

135- 

"Peg Woffington," E. H. 
Sothern in, 78. 

" Pembertons," Wilton Lack- 
aye in, 172. 

" Pen and Ink," William 
Faversham in, 102. 

"Peter White," Roland 
Reed in, 301. 

"Phroso," William Faver- 
sham in, 97. 

" Pinafore," Richard Mans- 
field in, 51. 

" Pink Dominoes," Henry 
Jewett in, 219, 222. 

" Pink Mask," J. K. Hackett 
in, 208. 

"Pique," John Drew in, 91. 

Pitt, H. M., 192. 

Plympton, Eben, 222, 240. 

" Politician," Roland Reed 
in, 310. 

Polk, J. B., 216. 



Index. 



349 



Pomeroy, Louise, 215, 216. 

"Pompadou r," Wilton 
Lackaye in, 173. 

" Poor Gentleman," Roland 
Reed in, 309. 

" Poor Relation," Sol Smith 
Russell in, 247, 259. 

Potter, Mrs. James Brown, 
209. 

" Power of the Press," Wil- 
ton Lackaye in, 173. 

Price, Lizzie, 304, 306. 

Price, Mark, 271. 

"Price of Silence," Wilton 
Lackaye in, 173. 

" Prince and the Pauper," 
William Faversham in, 
106. 

" Prince K a r 1," Richard 
Mansfield in, 54. 

" Princess and the Butter- 
fly," J. K. Hackett in, 
210. 

" Prisoner of Zenda," 

Hackett, J. K., 200, 

209. 
Sothern, E. H., 81. 

" Private Secretary," 

Gillette, William, 174, 

175, 186. 
Hackett, J. K., 208. 
Holland, E. M., 67. 

"Professor," William Gil- 
lette in, 285. 

" Pygmalion and Galatea," 
J. E. Dodson in, 281. 

" Queen Elizabeth," Henry 

Jewett in, 218. 
" Queen's Evidence," Henry 

Jewett in, 217. 



"Queen's Garter," R. B. 

Mantell in, 294. 
"Queen's Necklace," J. K. 

Hackett in, 209. 
"Queen's Shilling," J. E. 

Dodson in, 286. 
Quilp, William Faversham 



" Railroad of Love," John 

Drew in, 92. 
" Rajah," E. M. Holland in, 

67. 

Rankin, McKee, 58, 66. 

Raymond, John T., 182, 268, 
310. 

" Red Signal," Otis Skinner 
in, 272. 

Reed, German, 49. 

Reed, John Roland, 299. 

Reed, Roland, 297. 

Reeve, Wybert, 217. 

Rehan, Ada, 91, 192, 193. 

Rehan, Arthur, 208. 

" Retribution," William Gil- 
lette in, 182. 

"Rev. Griffith Davenport" 
(see " Griffith Daven- 
port "). 

Rice, Edward E., 131. 

" Richard II.," John Drew 
in, 90. 

« Richard III.," 

Haworth, Joseph, 311, 

312, 317. 
Mansfield, Richard, 55. 
Sothern, E. H., 73. 

" Richelieu," 

Drew, John, 90. 
Haworth, Joseph, 311, 

313. 324- 



35o 



Index. 



O'Neill, James, 138, 

142. 
Skinner, Otis, 270, 272. 
Rignold, George, 218. 
" Rinaldo," Joseph Haworth 

in, 311. 
" Rip Van Winkle," 
Dodson, J. E., 282. 
Holland, E. M., 65. 
Jefferson, Joseph, 14, 
15, 16. 
" Rip Van Winkle " (opera), 
Richard Mansfield in, 52. 
"Rivals," 

Goodwin, N. C, 134. 
Jefferson, Joseph, 1 5, 

16. 
Mason, John B., in. 
Reed, Roland, 309. 
Robson, Stuart, 231. 
" Road to Ruin," 

Holland, E. M., 65. 
MacDowell, M., 242, 

243- 
Robinson, Frederick, 207. 
Robson, Stuart, 119, 128, 

129, 157, 163, 223, 304. 
" Roger La Houte," Wilton 

Lackaye in, 172. 
" Romany Rye," 

Jewett, Henry, 218. 
Mantell, R. B., 293. 
" Romeo and Juliet," 

Faversham, William, 

95>98- 

Gillette, William, 182. 
Hackett, J. K., 201, 203. 
Jewett, Henry, 217, 220. 
Mantell, R. B., 293, 

294. 
Miller, Henry, 192. 



O'Neill, James, 143. 

Skinner, Otis, 273. 
" Rosedale," 

Crane, W. H., 154. 

Haworth, Joseph, 311. 

Mason, John B., 114. 
" Rosemary," 

Drew, John, 92. 

Skinner, Otis, 261, 276, 
"Rough Diamond," W. H. 

Crane in, 156. 
"Royal Revenge," N. C. 

Goodwin in, 133. 
Rudersdorff, Emma, 45. 
" Rupert of Hentzau," J. K. 
Hackett in, 201, 204, 210. 
Russell, Sol Smith, 248. 

" Saints and Sinners," 
Holland, E. M., 67. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 173. 

Salvini, Tomasso, yj^ 143. 

Salisbury, Nate, 155. 

"Sam," E. H. Sothern in, 

7i- 

" Saratoga," James O'Neill 

in, 142. 
" Satan in Paris," Joseph 

Haworth in, 320. 
" Scarlet Letter," Richard 

Mansfield in, 56. 
"Scrap of Paper," E. H. 

Sothern in, 78. 
" Scenes from the Life of 

Napoleon Bonaparte," 

Richard Mansfield in, 56. 
Schoeff el, Mrs. Agnes Booth, 

193, 207. 
" School," 

Crane, W. H., 156. 
Holland, E. M., 65. 



Index. 



351 



" School for Scandal," 
Drew, John, 87, 92. 
Faversham, William, 

101. 
Kelcey, Herbert, 333. 
Mason, John B., in, 

113, 114. 
Mantell, R. B., 293. 
Russell, Sol Smith, 257. 
" Schoolmistress," J. E. Dod- 

son in, 279. 
Scott, Clement, 115. 
" Scrap of Paper," J. E. Dod- 

son in, 286. 
" Sealed Instructions," E. 

M. Holland in, 67. 
" Second Mrs. Tanqueray," 

J. E. Dodson in, 286. 
" Secret Service," William 

Gillette in, 174, 176, 187. 
"Secret Warrant," R. B. 

Mantell in, 294. 
Seligman, Minnie, 208. 
"Senator," William H. 

Crane in, 149, 164. 
"Serious Family," William 

H. Crane in, 156. 
" Seven-Twenty-Eight," John 

Drew in, 92. 
Seymour, William, 113, 147. 
" Shadows of a Great City," 

Henry Jewettin, 219. 
" Sharps and Flats," 
Crane, W. H., 163. 
Robson, Stuart, 163. 
"Shaughran," R. B. Man- 
tell in, 292. 
Shaw, Mary, 72, 113, 222. 
" She," 

Faversham, William, 
106. 



Gillette, William, 187. 
Lackaye, Wilton, 171. 
Sheridan, William E., 268. 
" She Stoops to Conquer," 
Mantell, R. B., 293. 
Mason, John B., m. 
Robson, Stuart, 237. 
" She Would and She 
Wouldn't," John Drew 
in, 91. 
" Shenandoah," 

Lackaye, Wilton, 172. 
Mason, John B., 114. 
Miller, Henry, 194. 
" Sheridan," E. H. Sothern 

in, 81. 
" Shore Acres," James A. 

Heme in, 31. 
" Siberia," Henry Jewett in, 

219. 
" Silver King," 

Jewett, Henry, 216, 

217. 
Kelcey, Herbert, 332. 
"Skating Rink," N. C. 

Goodwin in, 132. 
" Sketches in India," N. C. 

Goodwin in, 130. 
Skinner, Charles M., 266. 
Skinner, Otis, 260. 
"Snowball," J. K. Hackett 

in, 208. 
"Social Highwayman," E. 
M. Holland in, 62, 63, 68. 
Smith, Sol, 251. 
"Sonnambula," W. H. 

Crane in, 154. 
Sothern, E. A., 70, 75. 
Sothern, Edward H., 70, 

103. 
Sothern, Lytton, 70, 75. 



352 



Index. 



Sothern, Sam, 70. 
" Sowing the Wind," 

Faversham, William, 

107. 
Miller, Henry, 194. 
" Spelling Bee," J. E. Dod- 

son in, 281. 
" Squire," 

Dodson, J. E., 286. 

Jewett, Henry, 217. 

Miller, Henry, 193. 

"Stage Struck," N. C. 

Goodwin in, 130. 
Stevenson, Charles, 66. 
"Still Waters Run Deep," 
Dodson, J. E., 286. 
Gillette, William, 182. 
Stoddart, James H., 52, 66, 

68, 207. 
"Story of Rodion the 
Student," Richard Mans- 
field in, 56. 
Stout, G. H., 228. 
" Stranger," John Drew in, 

90. 
" Strategist," Henry Jewett 

in, 216. 
"Streets of New York," 

W. H. Crane in, 153. 
Stuart, Henry Robson, 
Stuart Robson's name, 
223. 
Sullivan, Barry, 292. 
" Sunlight and Shadow," E. 

M. Holland in, 67. 
"Sunny South," Henry 

Jewett in, 216. 
Swain, Carrie, 171. 
" Sweet Lavender," 

Faversham, William, 
106. 



Mason, John B., 114. 
Miller, Henry, 194. 
" Swiss Cottage," William 
Faversham in, 101. 

" Taken from Life," Her- 
bert Kelcey in, 332. 

Talbot, W., 228. 

"Tale of a Coat," Sol 
Smith Russell in, 259. 

" Taming of the Shrew," 
John Drew in, 90, 91. 

" Ten Thousand a Year," 
Richard Mansfield in, 55. 

Terriss, William, 172. 

Terry, Edward, 281. 

Thorne, Charles, Jr., 116, 
137, 145, 233. 

" Those Bells," N. C. Good- 
win in, 132. 

" Three Guardsmen," Henry 
Jewett in, 215. 

" Three Wives to One Hus- 
band," E. H. Sothern in, 
78. 

" Ticket-of-Leave Man," 
Dodson, J. E., 281. 
Jewett, Henry, 219. 
Mason, John B., 114. 

"Time Tries All," W. H. 
Crane in, 1 56. 

"To Nemesis," Henry Jew- 
ett in, 220. 

Toole, J. L., 281. 

" Too Much Johnson," Will- 
iam Gillette in, 174, 175, 
187. 

"Tour de Nesle," William 
Gillette in, 182. 

" Transgressor," Wilton 
Lackaye in, 1 73. 



Index. 



353 



" Tree of Knowledge," J. 

K. Hackett in, 210. 
"Trilby," Wilton Lackaye 

in, 166, 173. 
" Trovatore," W. H. Crane 

in, 153- 

" Turned Up," 

Dodson, J. E., 282, 
284. 

Goodwin, N. C, 133. 

Hackett, J. K., 206. - 
Twain, Mark, 181. 
" Twelfth Night," 

Crane, W. H., 233, 234, 

Jewett, Henry, 220, 222. 

Robson, Stuart, 233, 

234- 
"Twilight," E. M. Holland 

in, 68. 
"Twins," J. E. Dodson in, 

282. 
"Two Men of Sandy Bar," 

Stuart Robson in, 233. 
" Two Old Boys," E. M. Hol- 
land in, 68. 
" Two Orphans," 

Jewett, Henry, 216, 217. 
O'Neill, James, 145. 
Reed, Roland, 309. 
" Two Roses," Henry Jew- 
ett in, 219. 

" Ultimo," W. H. Crane in, 
156. 

"Uncle's Will," J. E. Dod- 
son in, 286. 

" Uncle Tom's Cabin,"James 
A. Heme in, 27. 

"Uncle Tom's Cabin as It 
Is," Stuart Robson in, 
229. 



"Under the Red Robe," 
William Faversham in, 
107. 

" Under Two Flags," Will- 
iam Faversham in, 102. 

Vernon, Ida, 102. 

" Victoria Cross," E. H. 

Sothern in, 80. 
" Vie Parisienne," Richard 

Mansfield in, 53. 
" Villon the Vagabond," Otis 

Skinner in, 274. 
Vincent, Mrs., 113. 
"Viper on the Hearth," N. 

C. Goodwin in, 134. 
" Virginia Courtship," W. 

H. Crane in, 164. 
"Virginius," James O'Neill 

in, 138. 
" Voyagers in Southern 

Seas," Otis Skinner in, 

270. 

"Walda Lamar," E. H. 
Sothern in, 78. 

Waldron, May, 237. 

Wallack, Lester, 112, 245. 

Wallis, Ellen, 292. 

Walsh, Blanche, 216, 238. 

" Wanda," Henry Jewett in, 
218. 

Warde, Frederick, 91. 

Warner, Charles Dudley, 
178. 

Warren, William, 113, 242, 
258. 

" Way to Win a Woman," 
E. H. Sothern in, 81. 

" Weaker Sex," J. E. Dod- 
son in, 286. 



354 



Index. 



Weathersby, Eliza, 131. 
Western, Helen, 28. 
Western, Lucille, 28. 
"What Could She Do? or 

Jealousy," Sol Smith 

Russell in, 257. 
Whiteside, Walker, 275. 
" Whose are They ? " (see 

"Domestic E a r t h- 

quakes "). 
" Wife," 

Faversham, William, 

106. 
Kelcey, Herbert, 326. 
Miller, Henry, 193. 
"Wife's Father," W. H. 

Crane in, 164. 
Williams, Fritz, 60. 
Winter, William, 84. 
" Woman's Revenge," Wil- 
ton Lackaye in, 173. 
" Women of the Day," John 

Drew in, 90. 



Wood, Mrs. John, 232. 

" Wooden Spoon," Otis 
Skinner in, 271. 

" Woodleigh," Otis Skinner 
in, 267. 

Woodruff, Harry, 271. 

" World," 

Mantell, R. B., 293. 
Reed, Roland, 309. 

"Worth a Million," W. H. 
Crane in, 164. 

" Wrong Mr. Wright," Ro- 
land Reed in, 310. 

Wyndham, Charles, 120. 

" Yorick's Love," Otis Skin- 
ner in, 271. 
" Young Mrs. Winthrop," 

Gillette, William, 185. 

Holland, E. M., 67. 

Miller, Henry, 192. 
" Youth," Herbert Kelcey 

in, 33 2 - 



MOV 27 1899 






